The cases of forty patients who were operated on consecutively for palsy
of the posterior interosseous nerve were analyzed. The injury was
iatrogenic in sixteen patients, traumatic in fifteen, and nontraumatic in
nine. Persistent paralysis (partial or complete) was the only indication
for operation. Operative neurolysis was done in twenty-three patients;
interfascicular nerve-grafting, in twelve; internal neurolysis, in one; and
tendon transfer, in four. An excellent or good functional result was
documented for all but three patients, of whom two had had neurolysis and
one, nerve-grafting.