CASE: Brachial plexopathy is a rare complication of nonoperatively treated clavicular fractures. We describe a 68-year-old man who presented with fracture-callus-induced acute brachial plexopathy and dynamic thoracic outlet syndrome after 9 weeks of nonoperative management for a clavicular fracture. He underwent fracture fixation with brachial plexus decompression via callus excision; intraoperative neuromonitoring was used to evaluate brachial plexus function. Postsurgery, his neurologic function recovered completely. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative neuromonitoring is a useful tool for minimizing the risk of additional brachial plexus injury and determining the adequacy of neural decompression during delayed open reduction and internal fixation of clavicular fractures with fracture-callus-induced brachial plexus compression.
CASE: Brachial plexopathy is a rare complication of nonoperatively treated clavicular fractures. We describe a 68-year-old man who presented with fracture-callus-induced acute brachial plexopathy and dynamic thoracic outlet syndrome after 9 weeks of nonoperative management for a clavicular fracture. He underwent fracture fixation with brachial plexus decompression via callus excision; intraoperative neuromonitoring was used to evaluate brachial plexus function. Postsurgery, his neurologic function recovered completely. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative neuromonitoring is a useful tool for minimizing the risk of additional brachial plexus injury and determining the adequacy of neural decompression during delayed open reduction and internal fixation of clavicular fractures with fracture-callus-induced brachial plexus compression.