Subepineural pacinian corpuscle: a cause of digital pain

A patient is presented who had chronic digital pain as a result of an abnormally located subepineural pacinian corpuscle. The patient had complete relief of her symptoms and return of normal digital function following removal of the pacinian corpuscle. A review of the literature concerning this entity revealed very few reported cases. However, these cases shared many of the same symptoms, as well as both physical and operative findings. It is suggested that patients suffering from digital pain of unknown etiology with a previous history of direct or indirect trauma may benefit from a localized operative exploration of the digit to remove an abnormally located pacinian corpuscle affecting the digital nerve.