Overuse-related vascular injury of the hand--hypothenar hammer syndrome: a case report

Kamran M H Karimi1, Adam E Perlmutter, Bruce G Freeman

  • 1Dept. of Surgery, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, USA.

Although rare, vascular insufficiency is a well-recognized cause of hand pain, making a significant impact in the athletic and labor industry. Surgically correctable lesions are important to recognize since definitive treatment may alter the course of the disease and affect outcomes. Hypothenar hammer syndrome (HHS) results from anatomic predisposition and exposure to acute and chronic stress. Arteriography is the gold standard of diagnosis and severe symptomatic cases are treated with surgical resection and re-establishment of blood flow. We report such a case of HHS, its clinical course and management.

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