Cubital tunnel syndrome (CuTS) is generally treated successfully by surgery and recurrent cases are rare. This study retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics of recurrent CuTS caused by ganglion.
We evaluated nine patients who were surgically treated for recurrent CuTS caused by ganglion. Age distribution at recurrence ranged from 43 to 79 years. The initial surgery for CuTS had been performed using various methods. The asymptomatic period from initial surgery to recurrence ranged from 22 to 252 months. Clinical, diagnostic imaging, and operative findings during the second surgery were analyzed. All patients were treated by anterior subcutaneous ulnar nerve transposition with ganglion resection and later examined directly within a mean of 71 months after the second surgery.
The interval from recurrence to consultation was shorter than two months for eight cases. Chief complaints included numbness with or without pain in the ring and little fingers in all patients and resting pain in the medial elbow in five patients. Elbow osteoarthritis was present in all cases. Although four of 10 ganglia were palpable, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging could identify all ganglia preoperatively. The ulnar nerve typically had become entrapped by the ganglion posteriorly and by fascia, scar tissue, and/or muscle anteriorly. Chief complaints and ulnar nerve function were improved in all patients following revision surgery.
The acute onset of numbness with or without intolerable pain in the ring and little fingers after a long-term remission period following initial surgery for CuTS in patients with elbow osteoarthritis appears to be the characteristic clinical profile of recurrent CuTS caused by ganglion. As ganglia are often not palpable, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging are recommended for accurate diagnosis.