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The superficial radial nerve might be compressed or injured at various anatomical sites along its course in the forearm. Most of the superficial radial nerve neuropathy are caused by pathological lesions such as trauma, a mass or tight band at the distal third of the forearm. Wartenberg's syndrome is the most common cause of sensory radial entrapment at the distal forearm. Compression of superficial radial nerve occurring at the proximal third of forearm is unusual. We present a rare case of superficial radial nerve compression due to a parosteal lipoma of proximal radius. Results of complete physical and radiological examinations are also presented. Surgical intervention of the tumour mass was performed for nerve decompression. The patient reported total relief of the neurological symptom post-operatively. This rare case demonstrates the unique characteristics of parosteal lipoma with unusual superficial radial nerve neuropathy at the proximal radius. This report reminds us that there is the possibility of superficial nerve compression caused by tumour mass over the proximal third of forearm.

This is the first reported case of non-traumatic, acute bilateral forearm compartment syndrome. Despite a delay of over 24 hours until surgical decompression and 50% muscle fibre necrosis in the histopathological examination, the clinical outcome was excellent after fasciotomy, delayed primary wound closure and early institution of a range of motion exercise programme. The literature on non-traumatic causes of compartment syndrome is reviewed.

The Essex-Lopresti injury consists of a fracture of the radial head, rupture of the interosseous membrane and disruption of the distal radioulnar joint. The greatest challenge with this injury pattern is the diagnosis, because it is frequently missed and the attention usually focused on the elbow joint. In this paper we report an unusual pattern of Essex-Lopresti injury with a radial neck fracture, a tear of the interosseous membrane and a disruption of the distal radioulnar joint in which initial wrist radiographs did not show significative abnormalities. Open reduction and internal fixation for the radial head fracture was performed. Forearm rotation was locked with two Kirschner wires from ulna to radius to allow interosseous membrane to heal.

This case is even more difficult to diagnose than classic Essex-Lopresti pattern because of the absence of radius shortening, due to this specific radius fracture pattern, and also the absence of distal radioulnar joint dislocation. When treating a radial head fracture but also a radial neck fracture, interosseous membrane injury should be suspected to avoid misleading in diagnosis.

Some tumors or tumorous conditions causing posterior interosseous nerve palsy are well documented, but myositis ossificans causing the palsy of this nerve has not been described. We present a case of posterior interosseous nerve palsy caused by myositis ossificans of the supinator muscle.

Background: It is well known that acute compartment syndrome is associated with fracture of the forearm, while involvement of soft tissue injury including musculotendinous injury remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the soft tissue involvement, including musculotendinous ruptures, in acute compartment syndrome of the upper limb.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 16 patients who underwent surgical treatment for acute compartment syndrome of the upper extremity. The average age of the patients was 47 years (range, 14 to 79) and the mean follow-up period after the surgery was 15 months (range, 12 to 29). Complications included at least one presentation at the final follow up of sensory disturbances or motor disturbances. We examined the presence of musculotendinous injury mechanism of injury, presence of fracture, the performance of skin grafting, and complications.

Results: Mechanism of injury of “caught in a machine” was found in six cases. Three of these patients had musculotendinous ruptures and all muscle tears were revealed by intraoperative findings. No patients had muscle ruptures with other injury mechanisms. Seven out of 16 patients (44%) developed complications at final follow-up. Skin grafting was performed in six patients, and five of these patients developed complications. Only one of the nine patients without complications underwent skin grafting.

Conclusions: In cases of high-energy injuries, the surgeon should suspect the presence of a musculotendinous injury prior to surgery.

Deep-seated giant lipomas are rare relative to the overall incidence of the tumor and their occurrence grows more frequent with age. A case of an unusual deep-seated giant lipoma in the forearm of a four-year-old child is reported.

The Galeazzi-equivalent fracture is a rare injury that occurs in children. The most important issue is the distal ulnar epiphyseal injury. Although there have been some case reports, most of them performed only short term follow-up. This article describes two cases of this fracture with long term follow-up until epiphyseal closure. First case is a 12-year-old girl who sustained a Galeazziequivalent fracture of her right forearm and underwent emergency surgery. At follow-up of 5 years and 10 months postsurgery, radiographs show ulnar growth arrest of one mm and she has mild pain. Second case is a 15-year-old boy who sustained an open Galeazzi-equivalent fracture of his left forearm and underwent emergency surgery. At follow-up of 3 years and 3 months postsurgery, radiographs show no growth arrest of the distal ulna. He has no residual complaint. Long term follow-up is absolutely necessary to monitor ulnar growth.

A case of chronic compartment syndrome of the mobile wad in a 15-year-old female amateur tennis player is described. She presented with a 7-month history of radial forearm pain and tenderness with mild swelling, and was unable to swing the tennis racket. MRI showed high intensity within the brachioradialis muscle. Endoscopic fasciotomy showed degeneration of the brachioradialis muscle belly. Complete pain relief was obtained 4 months after the fasciotomy.

Spastic hypertonia causes loss of range of motion (ROM) and contractures in patients with post-stroke hemiparesis. The pronation/supination of the forearm is an essential functional movement in daily activities. We developed a special module for a shoulder-elbow rehabilitation robot for the reduction and biomechanical assessment of pronator/supinator hypertonia of the forearm. The module consisted of a rotational drum driven by an AC servo motor and equipped with an encoder and a custom-made torque sensor. By properly switching the control algorithm between position control and torque control, a hybrid controller able to mimic a therapist’s manual stretching movements was designed. Nine stroke patients were recruited to validate the functions of the module. The results showed that the affected forearms had significant increases in the ROM after five cycles of stretching. Both the passive ROM and the average stiffness were highly correlated to the spasticity of the forearm flexor muscles as measured using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). With the custom-made module and controller, this upper-limb rehabilitation robot may be able to aid physical therapists to reduce hypertonia and quantify biomechanical properties of the muscles for forearm rotation in stroke patients.

Background: Chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the forearm is an uncommon condition, occurring in some populations such as athletes. The standard surgical treatment for professional athletes who cannot avoid trigger activity is an open forearm fasciotomy, which may require a long recovery time. The aim of this study is to present a new endoscopic single approach forearm fasciotomy technique and outcomes of at least 3 years follow up.

Methods: We performed the endoscopic single approach forearm fasciotomy in 4 forearms in 3 men with the mean age of 25 years. All of the patients were evaluated at a mean follow up of 46 months using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) for pain and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire.

Results: DASH improved from 21.71 to 5.39, VAS score improved too All the patients referred pain absence after the stress test performed at 20 kilos and 40 kilos. In our series no post-operative complications were observed.

Conclusions: The new mini-invasive technique has proved to be safe, reliable in a long-term follow-up. The main advantage is the shortening of the recovering time, that leads to a faster return to the professional activity.

We report a case of ulnar nerve palsy caused by diaphyseal fractures of the forearm and acute compartment syndrome. Trans-ulnar single incision with a fasciotomy of the volar and dorsal compartments was used to fix the ulna. Full recovery of the ulnar nerve was achieved six months after the surgery. In cases of acute compartment syndrome with ulnar fracture, a trans-ulnar incision with compartment release is effective for the fixation of the ulna.

Acute compartment syndrome of the forearm secondary to hematoma without direct trauma has been reported rarely. We report a case of acute compartment syndrome of the forearm following a hematoma after playing golf. A 55-year-old man felt pain in his left forearm while playing golf that gradually worsened. He could not continue to play and visited the emergency department of our hospital. The radial side of his left forearm was markedly swollen on presentation, and he suffered severe pain that worsened with ulnar flexion of the wrist; no paralysis or hypesthesia was observed. A hematoma in the brachioradialis was seen on magnetic resonance imaging, and radial compartment pressure was 120 mmHg. A diagnosis of acute compartment syndrome was made, and urgent fasciotomy was performed. The patient recovered with no dysfunction of the arm.

Background: There are many options to treat post osteomyelitic gaps in forearm bones. We report a pediatric series with postosteomyelitic forearm segmental defects reconstructed with fibular only graft: the non vascular fibular intramedullary bridging bone and additional grafting (FIBBAG) and the results thereof.

Methods: Outcomes in 8 patients treated with fibular strut and overlay matchstick grafts were retrospectively assessed. The clinical results were expressed as forearm shortening, range of motion at elbow and wrist joint. The radiological evaluation included time to union, presence of fractures and recurrence of infection, if any.

Results: The average patient age was 6 years (range, 3–12 years). The radius was involved in 6 and ulna in 2. Union occurred in all patients. The average intraoperative gap to be spanned was 5.86 cm (range, 3–14 cm). The average time for union was 6.63 months (range, 2–14 months). Two patients required additional bone grafting procedures. No graft fatigues/fractures were noted in available follow up. There was no recurrence of infection in any case. A positive ulnar variance was seen in 3 patients at follow up. Forearm shortening was a major cosmetic limitation following the procedure.

Conclusions: Fibular strut and additional bone grafting (FIBBAG) is one of the viable options for reconstruction of post osteomyelitic forearm defects in children with low procedural complication rate.

Although osteochondroma is a benign bone tumor often observed in daily practice, solitary osteochondroma of the bicipital tuberosity is rarely observed. Herein, we report a case of bilateral solitary osteochondroma of the bicipital tuberosity. A 76-year-old woman experienced crackling and painful clicking bilaterally in her proximal forearms during pronation-supination. X-ray imaging, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the symptom was caused by bilateral solitary osteochondroma of the bicipital tuberosity. Bone tumor resection was performed on both sides. After surgery, the symptoms improved. X-ray imaging performed 2 years after surgery revealed no tumor recurrence. When painful clicking occurs around the elbow joint, a solitary osteochondroma of the bicipital tuberosity should be suspected; this symptom should be examined, and the surgeon should consider surgery positively. Exposed subchondral bone may rub against, collide with, or impinge upon the ulna during forearm pronation-supination and induce pain.

Compartment syndrome affecting the upper extremities is a relatively underreported event compared with compartment syndrome affecting the lower extremities. Moreover, insidious onset forearm compartment syndrome has been rarely reported and is usually limited to single case reports. We report a compartment syndrome of the forearm in a teenager. She hit her right proximal forearm lightly on the cash register, but there was no pain. However, the next day, she had difficulty in moving her right hand. Although she underwent electrotherapy, her right forearm gradually became swollen, and she felt numbness in the ring and little fingers of her right hand. Six day after the onset, she came to our hospital and underwent fasciotomy. There was no aftereffect, and very good functional recovery was obtained. All clinicians need to keep the case of forearm compartment syndrome in a young individual with a diffuse course, such as in this case in mind.

Corrective osteotomy of malunion of both forearm bones is a challenging procedure because it needs accurate angular and rotational correction of both bones. Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques have shown promising results in the correction of complex deformities. We report a patient with malunion of both bones of the forearm in whom we determined site and degree of correction required based on the computed tomography images of the affected side and mirrored images of the contralateral healthy side. We then created 3D printed sawbones and simulated osteotomy to confirm stable dynamic forearm rotation. This method enabled satisfactory restoration of anatomical and functional outcomes. Preoperative dynamic motion simulation using 3D printed anatomic bone model is helpful for complex corrective osteotomy of forearm fracture malunion.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)

To determine the dynamic axial rotation movement of human upper extremity, we developed a combined skin- and scapula-based marker system in which the scapula motion was detected with a marker set attached to an intracortical pin on the acromion. The subject performed axial rotation with the arm in 5 different positions. The total rotation range varied greatly if the arm was in different position. The pattern of axial rotation of each segment also changed. The upper extremity rotates total 376° at 90° abduction and only 257° at full abduction. The forearm usually contributed about 140°, so the differences mainly came from the scapulothoracic and the glenohumeral joints. The scapulothoracic joint axially rotated 66° with the arm in backward extension while only rotated 19° with the arm in 90° forward flexion. The glenohumeral joint rotated maximally, 143° with the arm at 90° abduction, while minimally, 69° with the arm at maximal abduction.