Fixed Anterior Position of Ulnar Nerve around Medial Condyle of Elbow with Bony Mass Causing Cubital Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

A 20-year-old male has presented with mild numbness and tingling sensation at 4, 5th finger of his left hand. Simple radiograph and MRI images revealed bony mass at medial joint space of ulno-humeral joint. After surgical exploration, we found that there were two cause of ulnar nerve irritation symptom. Fixed ulnar nerve position at anterior aspect to medial condyle with deficiency of nerve gliding was one cause, and friction irritation around bony mass was another. It is rarely reported that ulnar nerve always travels to the anterior side of the medial condyle of the elbow, and there are no cases involving skeletal variation. In this case, the ulnar nerve may be penetrated while forming an anterior medial portal around elbow joint. It is important to know the path of the ulnar nerves very carefully through imaging and physical examination when there is a bony variant in the elbow joint.