Affiliation:
1. Department of Orthopedics, Queens Hospital, Burton, United Kingdom,
Abstract
Trauma itself, surgery, nerve entrapments, amyotrophic neuropathy, or neuritis may result in anterior interosseous nerve (AIN) palsy. A 76-year-old woman who was operated for distal end radius fracture with plating was referred back referred back to the clinic by her general practitioner with complaints of inability to flex the interphalangeal joint of the thumb and index finger approximately 3 years after the index surgery. The proximal interphalangeal joint flexion (flexor digitorum superficialis) of the index finger was intact and the pinch power was reduced. She had normal function of her other forearm and hand muscles. Ultrasonography and nerve conduction velocity (NCV) studies were done to investigate further to rule out either tendon flexor pollicis longus (FPL) or nerve injury (AIN). NCV studies reported subacute denervation within the FPL. The patient recovered to near normal without any surgical intervention in 18 months. Literature reported various treatment options in the form of conservative as well as surgical depending on the cause and evidence of recovery.