Ulnar nerve palsies after percutaneous cross-pinning of supracondylar fractures in children's elbows

From 1991 to 1994, 375 supracondylar fractures had percutaneous pinning after closed or open reduction. Nineteen of these with normal preoperative neurologic examinations had postoperative ulnar nerve palsies. All but two of the 19 were followed up. These 17 patients had complete return of function. Only four of the 17 had the medial pins removed, and two others had explorations, which showed no interruption of the nerve. Many of these patients did not have complete return of function until after 4 months. From this and other studies, it is clear that ulnar nerve palsies occurring after percutaneous pinning of the supracondylar fracture usually resolve spontaneously.