Carpal tunnel syndrome or disorder is stinging, numbness and soreness in your hand or wrist caused due to pressure on nerves in your wrist. Not all the symptoms appear simultaneously as they may vary or move around.
Carpal tunnel release surgery is a process of cutting carpal ligament in order to release the pressure on your nerve.
Carpal tunnel release surgery – how it is performed
The main purpose of this surgery is to enlarge the space on carpal tunnel to remove the pressure on median nerve. The surgery is simple, and can be done on an outpatient basis. It can be performed with:
- General anesthesia with patient asleep
- Regional anesthetic that involves injection of a anesthetizing substance into upper arm in order to give a deadening feeling to the entire arm
- Local anesthetic that involves injection of a anesthetizing substance directly into your hand where opening is to be done
Carpal tunnel release surgery risks
Risks related to any anesthesia may include the following:
- Problems in breathing
- Allergic reactions to medicine
Risks related to carpal tunnel release surgery may include the following:
- Failure of the surgical procedure to improve symptoms
- Injury to the middle nerve or to the branches of the nerve
- Injury to vascular structure or another nerve (artery or vein)
- Discomfort and pain in your hand and wrist
- Scarring – open surgical treatment may leave a bigger scar, however, this gradually fades eventually.
In spite of these risks, carpal tunnel release surgery may be indispensable in some cases in order to repair the damage suffered by the wrists due to prolonged hours of working on computers or playing sports such as cricket or tennis.