BACKGROUND Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common disorder for which several surgical treatment options are available. OBJECTIVES To compare the efficacy of the various surgical techniques in relieving symptoms and promoting return to work or activities of daily living and to compare the occurrence of side-effects and complications in patients suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. SEARCH STRAT...

You are a general surgeon on the active staff of a community hospital. The last patient in your office is a 45year-old automotive shop schoolteacher who has carpal tunnel syndrome. Your clinical examination and electromyographic and nerve conduction studies confirm the diagnosis. Since the anti-inflammatory agent and the splint previously prescribed by the patient’s family physician have not he...

From September 1995 to July 1996 50 patients were treated for carpal tunnel syndrome as outpatients by endoscopic release in the rooms of an orthopaedic surgeon (two-portal-technique). The average age was 51.3 years (27-61 years). The average length of symptoms was 43 months, the postoperative time off work averaged 27 days. Six months postoperatively wasting of the thenar persisted in 2 out of...