
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel release is the procedure of choice for carpal tunnel syndrome, which is compression of the median nerve at the wrist causing symptoms such as pins and needles, numbness in some of the fingers. It can also cause pain at the wrist waking the patient up at night. Patients often say they hang the hand out the side of the bed at night to try and relieve the symptoms.
What's Involved
The procedure involves a short vertical incision over the wrist and division of a ligament that decompresses the nerve. This is a relatively straightforward procedure, and takes about 30 minutes. The hand is bandaged after surgery for 2 weeks, but the hand is functional straight after.
Recovery time, and return to work is between 2 -4 weeks. Failure to address this syndrome results in permanent numbness and eventual weakness of the hand