Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – When Surgery Is Needed
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a painful condition that involves the median nerve within the wrist. When this nerve gets squeezed, you will experience tingling sensation and numbness in your hand. When caught early, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is easily cured. The condition does not go away when it is not properly managed.
For this reason, you should not ignore the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Consult your doctor if you feel any consistent tingling and numbness in your palm, thumb, index, middle, and part of the ring finger, as that may mean that you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
When you present yourself at the clinic, your doctor will plan the course of your treatment depending on the severity of your symptoms. Treatment may range from rest to a surgical intervention. If all the conservative treatment methods do not work on you, it may be time to consider speaking with your doctor about surgery. Discuss with your doctor if surgery is the appropriate approach in your case at this time.
This is a case of a disturbance of a peripheral nerve that if not treated may progress into a chronic sensory disturbance or motor impairment in your hand which is supplied by the median nerve. To ensure that the nerve disturbance does not result in permanent damage, the doctor must be very watchful.
Surgery is done on patients whose Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can not be treated with conservative measures. There must also be a confirmation of a median neuropathy at the wrist done from an electrodiagnostic testing before surgery is considered. Surgery is also indicated when there are signs of atrophy or muscle weakness.
Carpal Tunnel Release is the name of the surgical procedure for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. There is the open release and the endoscopic release. The overall effectiveness of this operative procedure is reported to be good.
The standard procedure is the open release which is done through a small open wrist incision. It is performed by dividing the transverse carpal ligament through the small opening done on the wrist.
The endoscopic techniques, introduced in the ’80s are minimally invasive and are used to prevent palmar scarring. As with the open technique, the endoscopic techniques have equal efficacy in relieving the symptoms of the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
The outcome between these two techniques has no significant difference. It normally takes 28 days after the carpal tunnel surgery before the patient can go back to work. Some reports indicate that there is less post operative pain and a slightly quicker recovery time if the endoscopic technique is used.
It is possible that complications can happen after surgery, that is why it is important that you also discuss this issue with your doctor if you decide to have surgery. Once you are discharged, you will need someone to help you at home, so it is best that arrangements are made beforehand.
You can find out more about quick acting pain relief for carpal tunnel, when you visit the site for the best carpal tunnel treatment to eliminate your carpal tunnel pain for good!