DELAYED POSTERIOR INTEROSSEOUS NERVE PALSY

A rare case of delayed posterior interosseous nerve palsy that developed 39 years after an unreduced anterior dislocation of the radial head is reported. The posterior interosseous nerve was compressed and narrowed at the arcade of Frohse. Radial head resection and release of the arcade was done. The paralysis continued to recover 6 weeks after operation. The nerve, at the arcade of Frohse, was susceptible to compression by the dislocated radial head, especially in the supinated position. Repeated supination and pronation movement over time may have led to developmental changes that caused the delayed nerve palsy. Journal of Hand Surgery (British and European Volume, 1995) 20B: 5:655-657 Acute posterior interosseous nerve palsy after Monteggia fracture has been reported by some authors (Spinner et al, 1968; Stein et al, 1971; Morris, 1974). However, there have been few reports in the English and Japanese literature of delayed posterior interosseous nerve palsy as a result of residual dislocation of the radial head in Monteggia fractures (Lichter an