Median nerve palsy: a complication of brachial artery cardiac catheterization.

The patient, an 83-year-old male with ischemic cardiac disease, was examined using a periodical left brachial artery cardiac catheterization. Six hours after the examination, complete median nerve palsy appeared. Four months later, the median nerve was explored and found to be compressed by a hematoma in the brachial artery. The location of the hematoma was at 6 cm proximal to the puncturing point, because the catheter may have penetrated the brachial artery from the lumen. The median nerve was released and the hematoma removed. One year after surgery, the median nerve palsy had disappeared.