Low Motor Ulnar Nerve Palsy Caused by a Traumatic Pseudoaneurysm of the Ulnar Artery

Abstract

Ulnar tunnel syndrome (UTS) refers to the compression of the ulnar nerve as it courses through Guyon’s canal. Entrapment in this canal is a rare, but recognized, form of compression neuropathy of the ulnar nerve. The presence of ganglion has been cited as the most common cause of this syndrome [1–3]. However, many other different causes of UTS have been described in the literature [4–7]. Compression of the ulnar nerve in the hand by a psedoaneurysm of the ulnar artery has been described after a blunt trauma and as a complication of endoscopic carpal tunnel decompression [8–11]. Low-ulnar nerve palsy is an infrequent complication of ulnar artery pseudoaneurysm. In this report, we describe a compression of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve caused by a pseudoaneurysm of the ulnar artery in a patient with a “minor” penetrating hypotenar injury.