[Results of the surgical liberation of the ulnar nerve in retro-epitrochlear tunnel syndromes].

Three different techniques have been employed for surgical treatment of 62 ulnar nerves at the elbow region provoking neuropathies. Disorders became worse in 2 out of 11 patients treated by endofascicular neurolysis and this procedure should be abandoned. Overall sensory-motor results of subcutaneous anterior transposition of the nerve, performed in 26 cases, were inferior (78 p. cent good results) to those obtained by neurolysis combined with longitudinal epineurotomy (95 p. cent good results), applied in 25 cases. Almost constant disappearance of subjective symptoms, pain and paresthesia, was observed with the two latter methods. Treatment proposed for the ulnar tunnel syndrome is therefore simple neurolysis combined with longitudinal epineurotomy. Prognostic factors cannot be assessed from this study, the age, time between onset and operation, and the degree of paralysis having no incidence on the postoperative improvement obtained.