[Isolated traumatic serratus anterior muscle palsy].

Abstract

Several types of treatment have been proposed for serratus anterior palsy: non-operative care, muscle transfers mainly with pectoralis major flaps, and scapulothoracic arthrodesis. Most of the series on scapulothoracic arthrodesis have concerned fascioscapulohumeral dystrophy and cannot be compared with our patients. Data in the literature on muscle transfers, which could be considered as comparable with our trauma injuries, have demonstrated good results for shoulder motion but a limited effect on overall muscle force. In our series, scapulothoracic arthrodesis provided good results for muscle force, pain relief, and overall shoulder function, with shoulder motion being limited by the position of the arthrodesed scapula. We propose this type of treatment for serratus anterior palsy mainly for manual laborers.