Ulnar nerve transposition is a surgery to treat ulnar nerve compression. You may know about the ulnar nerve because you hit your “funny bone” and had a numbing and/or painful sensation. The “funny bone” isn’t a bone, instead, it’s the inner elbow region (cubital tunnel) where the ulnar nerve is less protected from the external environment. The ulnar nerve is most frequently trapped in the cubital tunnel in the elbow, and when squeezed, causes cubital tunnel syndrome. The ulnar nerve innervates muscles that allow our fingers to move apart and together. It frequently undergoes compression by the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle which flexes (bends down) and adducts (bends out) the wrist. In an anterior ulnar nerve transposition, the surgeon will create another tunnel in front of the medial epicondyle of the upper arm bone (humerus). In ulnar nerve decompression, the surgeon will make a small incision around the inner elbow to examine the joint region, including the cubital tunnel. Anterior transposition types include subcutaneous, submuscular and intermuscular transpositions where the ulnar nerve will be relocated under the skin, under the muscle or between the muscle, respectively. The surgeon will determine the appropriate treatment after considering a patient’s age, concerns, injury severity, activity levels and overall elbow joint health.

The signs underlying ulnar nerve transpositions are a part of the cubital tunnel syndrome, the second most common nerve compression syndrome.