Cubital Tunnel Revision After Transposition: A Single Center Experience

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Neurosurgery

Background:

• Cubital tunnel syndrome is a common entrapment neuropathy.
• Surgical intervention, including cubital tunnel release with transposition, is frequently performed.
• Different transposition techniques exist, with varying reported outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess and compare revision rates after three distinct cubital tunnel release with transposition techniques.
• To evaluate the efficacy of subcutaneous, subfascial, and submuscular transposition methods.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 216 cubital tunnel release with transposition surgeries over a 5-year period.
• Analysis of revision surgeries, categorizing them by index procedure (in situ release vs. transposition) and transposition type.
• Calculation of revision rates for subcutaneous, subfascial, and submuscular transposition techniques.

Main Results:

• A total of 216 transposition surgeries were analyzed: 82 subcutaneous, 71 subfascial, and 63 submuscular.
• Twenty revision surgeries were identified (9.3% overall revision rate).
• Revision rates did not significantly differ among the three transposition techniques, with low rates observed for each.

Conclusions:

• The overall rate of revision surgery following cubital tunnel release with transposition is low.
• No significant differences in revision rates were found between subcutaneous, subfascial, and submuscular transposition techniques.
• A true subcutaneous transposition may be a sufficient surgical option for cubital tunnel syndrome.