Background: The natural course of isolated serratus palsy is obscure. Residual winging, muscle weakness, and fatigability reportedly occur in half of the patients. Because we believed isolated serratus palsy might have a better natural course than earlier thought, we evaluated our long-term records.
Questions/purposes: We determined duration of symptoms and whether scapular winging, ROM, and pain recover or persist after isolated serratus palsy without any particular treatment.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 37 patients with isolated serratus palsy treated by observation without any brace or surgery. We determined the degree of scapular winging, ROM, and pain. The minimum followup was 2 years (median, 18 years; range, 2-31 years) after onset of symptoms.
Results: The duration of scapular winging averaged 16 months (range, 2-30 months). Winging of the scapula disappeared in 29 (78%) of the patients, flexion recovered to normal in 30 (82%) and abduction in 33 (89%). Of the 37 patients, 11 (30%) were pain-free; pain at rest was absent from 17 (46%), occurred seldom in seven (19%), and was temporary in 12 (32%); one patient had pain at rest continuously. None of the patients desired other treatment such as a brace or surgery.
Conclusions: The natural course of isolated serratus palsy in clinically mild cases is not as favorable as we had expected. Symptoms mostly recover in 2 years, but at least one-fourth of the patients will have long-lasting symptoms, especially pain. We could identify no factors to allow us to appropriately choose patients with serratus palsy for observation only.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11999-012-2723-7 | DOI Listing |
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