Recalcitrant post-surgical neuropathy of the ulnar nerve at the elbow: Treatment with autogenous saphenous vein wrapping

Surgical decompression or transposition. is generally efficacious for cubit al tunnel syndrome. However, recurrence is not rare and its management is b oth challenging and difficult. Four patients with refractory cubital tunnel syndrome were operated on with the vein-wrapping technique, using the auto logous saphenous vein. A total of 16 operative procedures were performed on these patients prior to wrapping the ulnar nerve with a saphenous vein gra ft. The mean patient age was 43 years (range: 30 to 54 years) and the mean follow-up was 34 months (range: 24 to 44 months). All patients reported sig nificant pain relief and improvement in sensation. Two-point discrimination and EMG findings also improved. This is the first study reporting long-ter m results of the vein-wrapping technique for the treatment of recalcitrant cubital tunnel syndrome.