RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Accessory nerve palsy. JF Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd SP 1113 OP 1116 DO 10.1136/jnnp.40.11.1113 VO 40 IS 11 A1 Olarte, M A1 Adams, D YR 1977 UL http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/40/11/1113.abstract AB After apparently uncomplicated excision of benign lesions in the posterior cervical triangle, two patients had shoulder pain. In one, neck pain and trapezius weakness were not prominent until one month after surgery. Inability to elevate the arm above the horizontal without externally rotating it, and prominent scapular displacement on arm abduction, but not on forward pushing movements, highlighted the trapezius dysfunction and differentiated it from serratus anterior weakness. Spinal accessory nerve lesions should be considered when minor surgical procedures, lymphadenitis, minor trauma, or tumours involved the posterior triangle of the neck.