Aberrant Superficial Branch of the Radial Nerve–Radial Forearm Free Flap Considerations

• Published in: Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open Vol. 7; no. 6; p. e2191
• Main Authors: Patel, Krupal B., Naik, Akash N., Kang, Stephen Y., Old, Matthew O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons 01-06-2019; Copyright The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. All rights reserved; Wolters Kluwer Health; Wolters Kluwer
• Subjects: Case Report
• ISSN: 2169-7574; 2169-7574
• DOI: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000002191

The superficial branch of the radial nerve (SBRN) is encountered and must be preserved during the harvest of a radial forearm free flap (RFFF). An abnormal course of the SBRN was encountered during the harvest of an RFFF. The nerve had an abnormal course with two branches—in the proximal forearm, one branch was anterior and the second branch was posterior to the brachioradialis muscle and in the distal forearm, both of these nerves merged together. A review of the literature was performed, with no such documented aberrant course of the SBRN being described previously. Knowledge of the SBRN anatomy and its variations is important to note during the RFFF harvest.