Iatrogenic ulnar nerve injury resulting from a venous cut down procedure

We present a case of an iatrogenic left ulnar nerve injury caused during the basilic vein cut down in a 25-year-old woman presenting with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and requiring an emergency laparotomy. Two months after her discharge from the hospital, the patient presented to the hand surgery clinic with a weak grip strength and paraesthesias in the left hand, diagnosed to be resulting from a deficient ulnar nerve function. Surgical exploration of the nerve showed a complete section of the nerve. End to end repair and anterior transposition of the nerve was done. At 10 months follow up, the patient showed recovery in the flexor digitorum profundus and flexor carpi ulnaris, thus partially improving the grip strength. The patient was still under follow-up at the time this report was prepared.