Postoperative evaluation of outcomes after median and ulnarnerve injury repairs at the wrist

The aim of this study is to evaluate long-term results of the patients operated in our clinic between 2016 and 2021 for median and/or ulnar nerve injuries in the distal one third of the forearm. Out of 89 patients, who were operated due to median and/or ulnar nerve injuries at the wrist and microsurgical repair per- formed, 34 patients were recruited in this study. Examination findings during recov- ery period were evaluated retrospectively from the patient files. The effect of injury etiology, accompanying pathologies, patient age, timing of operation and injured peripheral nerve type on the long-term clinical outcomes were evaluated by assessing deformities, sympathetic symptoms, trophic changes, astereognosis, Seddon criteria and Michigan score. Higher rates of persistent deformities were observed in patients with ulnar nerve injury (p = 0.001). Presence of long-term sympathetic symptoms were significantly more common in patients injured with angle grinder or power saw than the patients with glass cutting injury (p = 0,024). Among young adults, etiology of injury was frequently with glass cutting (p = 0,019). Injuries in the elderly were generally related to work accidents and mostly involved the nondominant extremity, on the other hand, injuries among young adults mostly involved the dominant ex- tremity and were related to glass cutting (p = 0,009). Repair and follow-ups of the upper extremity peripheral nerve injuries require high levels of knowledge and skills, and nowadays these injuries are among the most important emergencies. When there is a suspicion about a peripheral nerve injury, an early diagnosis with a careful exam- ination and a good repair with the microsurgery principles at the acute stage should be performed and then, the patients should be followed-up with a decent rehabilita- tion schedule. Key Words: Ulnar, Median, Seddon, Peripheral Nerve