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Persistent Median Artery as a Cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? A Case Report Highlighting the Indispensable Role of Ultrasonography in Diagnosis Cover

Persistent Median Artery as a Cause of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? A Case Report Highlighting the Indispensable Role of Ultrasonography in Diagnosis

Open Access
|Mar 2026

Abstract

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) stands as the most common entrapment neuropathy. The PMA, a transient embryonic vessel, is found in approximately 3-7% of the population, yet it is extremely rare to present as a possible symptomatic space-occupying lesion or a source of pulsatile compression within the carpal tunnel. Herein, we report a case of a 66-year-old female with CTS together with large PMA, surgically treated by simple open carpal tunnel release. Following meticulous surgical decompression and preservation of the artery in situ, the patient achieved complete symptomatic relief. Post-operative high-resolution sonography was utilized to confirm the vascular anomaly and document the successful decompression. This case underscores a critical diagnostic dilemma in orthopedic surgery: performing a blind carpal tunnel release in the elderly without prior imaging carries an inherent danger, as failure to detect such a variant preoperatively risks iatrogenic vascular injury.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amb-2026-0044 | Journal eISSN: 2719-5384 | Journal ISSN: 0324-1750
Language: English
Page range: 55 - 59
Submitted on: Nov 16, 2025
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Accepted on: Nov 24, 2025
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Published on: Mar 17, 2026
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

© 2026 A. Al-Sadek, L. Gaydarski, G. Varbanov, B. Antonov, G. P. Georgiev, published by Medical University - Sofia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.