Symptomatic scapular winging resulting in scapular dyskinesis leads to a wide spectrum of clinical complaints, most notably periscapular pain, neck pain, and dysfunction of the shoulder. In addition, the patient will often have a hard time lifting the shoulder up forward and to the side, and is usually limited to half of active normal movement of the shoulder. In particular, the serratus anterior, innervated by the long thoracic nerve, is a key muscle that stabilizes the scapula and provides coordinated scapulohumeral rhythm. This is my preferred technique to treat symptomatic scapular winging due to long thoracic nerve palsy through transfer of the pectoralis major with its bone insertion to the inferior edge of the scapula.
Pectoralis Major Transfer for Treatment of Serratus Anterior Dysfunction in the Setting of Long Thoracic Nerve Palsy