%0 Journal Article %T Kaplan anastomosis of the ulnar nerve: a case report %A Georgios Paraskevas %A Christos Ch Gekas %A Alexandros Tzaveas %A Ioannis Spyridakis %A Alexandra Stoltidou %A Parmenion Ph Tsitsopoulos %J Journal of Medical Case Reports %D 2008 %I BioMed Central %R 10.1186/1752-1947-2-107 %X We report the case of a rare ulnar nerve branch called a Kaplan anastomosis, which anastomosed the dorsal cutaneous branch with the ulnar nerve prior to its bifurcation into the superficial and deep ramus.Many authors have reported unusual ulnar nerve branches and knowledge of these anatomical variations is important for the interpretation of pain and sensory loss in the area sustained during injuries or surgical procedures. Our finding is the fourth case of a Kaplan anastomosis to be described in the literature.Knowing that there is a nerve variation in the ulnar area of the hand is important and could explain sensory loss or pain in patients following surgical procedures or trauma. Ulnar nerve variations are consistently located in the origin or course of the distal branches. The communicating branches between the ulnar and median nerve have been described mostly in the hand and arm. A communicating branch of the dorsal and superficial ramus of the ulnar nerve, known as a Kaplan anastomosis, is rare and this is the fourth case to be described in the literature.We dissected an upper limb of a 76-year-old male cadaver, for educational purposes. First, we exposed and then removed the fascia of the forearm and palm. The ulnar nerve and its dorsal ramus were exposed after reflecting the flexor carpi ulnaris tendon medially, by removing the flexor retinaculum and transecting the roof of Guyon's canal. The ulnar artery was removed in order to obtain a better view of the course of the ulnar nerve in this region. After careful dissection in the wrist area, we found a thin nerve branch, originating from the dorsal ulnar nerve branch approximately 3 cm proximal to the ulnar styloid process. This nerve branch, called Kaplan anastomosis, was parallel to the ulnar nerve. This nerve branch gave off many thin branches along its course for the synovial membrane of the joint, the abductor of the fifth finger and the skin of the area. The nerve branch then passed through Guyon's can %U http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/2/1/107