[Comparison of the results of single tendon transfer with ternary tendon transfer surgery in patients with radial nerve palsy]

ABSTRACT

Considering the prevalence of radial nerve palsy and the importance of adequate treatment procedures for this dysfunction, the present study was carried out on patients with radial nerve in 15-Khordad hospital. The study was set to compare the results of single-tendon transfer surgery with those of the common [triple-tendon transfer] surgery. The study adopted a historical cohort method. Patients with definite radial nerve palsy diagnosis were assigned into either the experimental group with single-tendon transfer surgery or the control group with triple-tendon transfer surgery. After similar surgical treatment and at least one-month follow-up, the results of changes in the range of motion in metacarpophalangeal [MP], proximal interphalangeal [PIP] and distal interphalangeal [DIP] joints were compared using Kruskal-Wallis test. The participants consisted of 50 patients who were assigned into a single-tendon transfer [N=33] and a triple-tendon transfer surgery [N=17]. The subjects in either group were similar in terms of the type of disease, simultaneous attendance and socio-economic status [in regard to referring to the same hospital] as well as the initial range of motion in MP, PIP and DIP joints, so that there was no significant statistical difference among them. Following the treatment, the range of motion in the MP joint improved as much as 77.3 +/- 12.1 in triple-tendon subjects and 88 +/- 63 in single-tendon subjects. It improved in the PIP joint as much as 85.9 +/- 13.5 in triple-tendon subjects and 90.5 +/- 40.1 in single-tendon subjects. It also improved in the DIP joint as much as 267 +/- 8 in triple-tendon subjects and 256 +/- 16 in single-tendon subjects [P<0.4]. It seems that the number of tendons transferred to treat radial nerve palsy does not affect the surgical results. Considering the limitations of the present study, it is recommended to conduct further clinical trials on this issue.