Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an outpatient procedure performed under local anesthesia in which the transverse carpal ligament of the wrist is divided. This creates more room in the carpal tunnel and relieves pressure on the median nerve.
The surgery takes about one hour. Afterwards, there may be some stiffness and pain in the wrist. Full recovery takes about four to eight weeks, but will depend upon the extent of pre-operative nerve damage, occupation, age and compliance with post-operative rehabilitation. A thin surgical scar across the wrist is all that remains following surgery.
A good reason to choose Virginia Mason for carpal tunnel surgery is that our surgeons perform a high number of the procedures annually. Studies have shown that patient outcomes are better at hospitals with a high volume of these surgeries. Our current case load exceeds 300 CTS surgeries per year, and over the last five years, more than 2,000 procedures have been performed successfully.
Due to the expertise of our hand surgeons and staff, complication rates for carpal tunnel surgery are less than 1 percent, below the 3 percent national average. Patients with carpal tunnel syndrome have expressed the highest levels of satisfaction with the care they received at Virginia Mason.
For more information about treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome at Virginia Mason, call (206) 341-3000.