Abstract
Purpose : We report two cases of bifid median nerve in the carpal tunnel because of the exceptional rarity of this event. This does not abolish the possibility of the existence of the second branch and the inspection of the carpal tunnel’s content should be done with special care.
Materials and methods : 530 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome were operated in our clinic in the time period 1994 to 2002 with the open and endoscopic method. 351 of them were women and 179 men. Among these patients two had a bifid median nerve in the carpal tunnel. These two patients were married women whose children had dysplasia of different organs.
Results : In both cases the patients were relieved from the symptoms of pressure after the release of the transverse carpal ligament and the epineurium.
Conclusions : It is not known if the existence of a bifid median nerve is a reason of carpal tunnel syndrome. However it is an exceptional rare event and we must take special care to recognize the second branch so as to have the same handling as the first one. Finally, we must examine the children of these parents for the existence of organs dysplasia.
The abstracts were prepared by Eleni Koutsoukou. Correspondence should be addressed to him at the Hellenic Association of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (HAOST), 20, A. Fleming str, 15123 Marousi, Athens, Greece.
