Surgery of ulnar nerve in leprosy.

Surgery on 64 ulnar nerves in leprosy was done for the treatment of ulnar nerve paralysis of less than one year duration. The initial treatment, indications for surgery, clinical findings, the operation procedures and findings are described in detail. Factors shown to have statistically significant bearing on nerve function before and after surgery are discussed. The results were: improved 32, further nerve damage stopped in 11; worsening in six while in the remaining 15 nerves there was no nerve function recovery. The main conclusions are that earlier the duration of paralysis and lesser the initial nerve function deficit better is the result. Lepromatous cases showed better result than non-lepromatous cases.