Tendon & Ulnar Nerve Injury
Pic 1 : A young man slipped and cut his hand with glass over the wrist. His tendons and ulnar nerve were cut. Nerve injuries can be easily missed at initial presentation if not assessed properly particular with sharp glass injuries as the cut in the skin may sometimes seem innocuous.
Pic2 : Post operatively after repair of all structures, nerve injuries take months to heal. In this time , splinting and therapy to maintain range of motion in the fingers is important.
Pic3 : The abnormal positioning of the fingers can be seen as a result of the fine intrinsic muscles in the hand not being innervated. This re-innervation takes between 6 and 12 months. In this time muscles become wasted and weak. An injury such as the one seen here will result in about 15-20% loss of function compared to normal function even after a full recovery of nerve regeneration has taken place.
