Type III intra-articular entrapment of the median nerve following elbow dislocation in an adult patient: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic entrapment of the median nerve within the elbow joint is a rare condition and primarily affects children and adolescents. It may occur following elbow dislocations or fracture-dislocations. PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 33-year-old woman presented one week after sustaining an elbow dislocation, reporting severe pain and symptoms of median nerve dysfunction. After the failure of conservative treatment, surgical exploration, performed the following week, revealed a type III intra-articular entrapment (neve looped inside the joint). Nerve decompression was successfully executed, and no postoperative complications were observed. At the two-year follow-up, the patient reported no pain and had returned to work with minimal functional limitations. DISCUSSION: To date, just over 50 cases of traumatic median nerve entrapment have been documented in the literature. It is typically classified into four anatomical types, with types I and II being the most prevalent. In a literature review, we found only seven reported cases of type III entrapment in patients between 4 and 18 years of age. Therefore, this may represent the first reported case of type III entrapment in a patient older than 18 years. CONCLUSION: This report describes a rare case and highlights that achieving a favorable outcome in cases of intra-articular nerve entrapment depends on early clinical suspicion, timely diagnosis, and prompt surgical intervention.