The Relationship between the Palmaris Longus Tendon and the Palmar Cutaneous Branch of the Median Nerve

Abstract

The palmaris longus tendon is an idea donor for tendon grafts for plastic surgery. Ethnological variations may affect surgical procedures. In this study, we evaluated the relationship of the palmaris longus (PL) tendon to the palmar cutaneous nerve of median nerve (PCN) in the Chinese adult. We measured the a) distance between the PCN radially to palmaris longus, b) distance between the ulnarward PCN to palmaris longus, c) distance between the origin of PCN to the distal wrist crease and, d) distance between the proximal tendon part of PL to distal wrist crease. A total of 60 cadavers with 120 PCNs and 109 PLs were examined in three consecutive years. 106 cases (88.3%) of the PCNs originated from radial side of the median nerve and the mean distance was 1.4 cm. 14cases (11.7%) of the PCNs originated ulnarward and the mean distance was 0.3 cm. The mean distance of origin of the PCN to the distal wrist crease was 3.2 cm and the mean distance of the proximal tendon part of PL to the distal wrist creast was 13.1 cm. Therefore, we suggest that transverse incision be made 4cm from the distal wrist crease in palmaris longus tendon graft.