Ulnar-sided pain due to extensor carpi ulnaris tendon subluxation: a case report

INTRODUCTION: We present the case of a patient with extensor carpi ulnaris tendon subluxation who was first treated for distal radioulnar joint sprain. CASE PRESENTATION: A 25-year-old Caucasian man was seen at our policlinic one month after he had fallen on his outstretched hand. A diagnosis of extensor carpi ulnaris subluxation was made clinically but we also had the magnetic resonance imaging scan of the patient’s wrist which displayed an increased signal on T2-weighted images consistent with inflammation around the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon. The extensor carpi ulnaris tendon was found to be dislocating during supination and relocating during pronation. The sheath was reconstructed using extensor retinaculum due to attenuation of subsheath. CONCLUSION: There was no recurrent dislocation of the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon of the patient at his last follow up 12 months after the operation.