Ulnar nerve compression by heterotopic ossification in a head-injured patient.
Although heterotopic ossification (HO) at the elbow is a frequent occurrence following head injury, nerve compression by heterotopic bone is quite rare. We report the case of a 22-year-old woman with head injury and well-documented HO at the left elbow who developed signs and symptoms of an ulnar neuropathy four months after her original injury. Electrodiagnostic studies confirmed the presence of a severe ulnar nerve lesion at the level of the elbow. Anterior transposition of the left ulnar nerve showed the nerve to have been compressed by heterotopic bone.
D000328:Adult; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D009999:Ossification, Heterotopic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011859:Radiography; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D014459:Ulnar Nerve / Q000601:surgery