title: Axillary nerve injury after thermal capsular shrinkage of the shoulder.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate 4 cases in which axillary nerve injury was observed after radiofrequency capsular shrinkage of the shoulder. These cases were used to evaluate the clinical circumstances under which axillary nerve injury occurred, the time frame over which these injuries recovered, and the ultimate outcome observed in these patients. The case histories of each of these 4 patients were carefully evaluated. In 2 of the 4 cases, purely sensory findings were found, and in 2 cases both sensory and motor injuries occurred. In each case the inferior axillary recess was treated using the Oratech Interventions Tac-S probe. The authors conclude that injury to the axillary nerve during this procedure is possible and postulate that heat penetration through the capsule to the nerve is the most likely cause of injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA. patrick.greis@hsc.utah.edu
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Greis
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Burks
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Schickendantz
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sandmeier
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D017746:Joint Capsule / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D017933:Peripheral Nervous System / Q000293:injuries*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D000078702:Radiofrequency Therapy; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000294:innervation / Q000601:surgery*