A Very Rare Cause of Shoulder Weakness: Concurrent Traumatic Neuropathies of Accessory, Long Thoracicus, and Suprascapular Nerves

Authors

Department of Neurology, Hacettepe University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

10.4103/atr.atr_61_17

Abstract

Accessory nerve is one of the most sensitive cranial nerves to injury, and its injuries are usually caused by iatrogenic interventions. As many
other causes can mimic its clinical presentation, careful physical examination should be performed while evaluating a patient suspected of
accessory neuropathy. In this report, we aimed to illustrate a very rare case with concurrent traumatic cranial neuropathies of accessory nerve,
suprascapular nerve, and long thoracicus. A 16‑year‑old boy was admitted with complaints of shoulder weakness and pain following a trauma of
strain injury. He had first taken the misdiagnosis of brachial plexopathy; however, after a detailed physical examination and electrophysiological
study, the diagnosis of concurrent traumatic neuropathies of accessory, suprascapular, and long thoracicus nerves was made. In our opinion,
during evaluation of these rare traumatic neuropathies, detailed clinical evaluations combined with detailed electromyography investigations
may give crucial data for the proper diagnosis.

Keywords


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