Medial brachial and antebrachial cutaneous nerve injuries: effect on outcome in revision cubital tunnel surgery.

Twenty patients with persistent symptoms of medial elbow pain after previous cubital tunnel surgery were evaluated during reoperation, for injury of the medial antebrachial and medial brachial cutaneous nerves at the time of reoperation. Abnormalities of the medial cutaneous nerves were found in 65 percent of the patients. A neuroma was found in 40 percent of the patients. The neuromas were treated surgically by excision, stump cauterization, and relocation into muscle. All patients had revision release of the cubital tunnel. The results were analyzed after a mean follow-up of 26 months. The results of the 13 patients with injured cutaneous nerves tended to be worse ( p=0.065) than the results of seven patients without such findings.