Lipoma causing a posterior interosseous nerve syndrome

Abstract

Posterior interosseous nerve syndrome is an entrapment neuropathy of the deep terminal branch of the radial nerve -the posterior interosseous nerve -at the radial tunnel. Radial neuropathy without prior injury or other obvious etiology occurs frequently. However, sometimes previous trauma, surgery, or tumors over the radial nerve contribute to chronic entrapment and can produce the classic syndrome. In this report we describe an unusual case of a 68-year-old-woman with a chronic posterior interosseous nerve syndrome due to a lipoma. The patient had poor recovery after surgery, despite splinting and rehabilitation physiotherapy, mainly because of the long duration (2 years) and severity of the compression neuropathy.

Posterior Interosseous Neuropathy: Electrodiagnostic Evaluation

“…It accounts for less than 0.7% of all upper limb peripheral nerve compression syndromes [10] and has an annual incidence estimated to be 0.003% [7, 13]. In 25% of patients, PINS occurs following trauma (such as forearm fractures and crush injuries) and 15% may be iatrogenic following the reduction of a radial fracture, or release of the common extensor origin for treatment of lateral epicondylitis [18, 32]. The remaining cases develop spontaneously.…”