Carpal Tunnel Surgery Statistics
Mind-Boggling Mistakes,
Uncertain Data,
Oh My!

A small collection of Carpal Tunnel Surgery Statistics:

You may be VERY interested in Carpal Tunnel Surgery Statistics if you have, or fear that you are about to get, a Carpal Tunnel Diagnosis.

If you have, it's highly likely that you have been warned that you may be looking at surgery in the near future. Or even be scheduled for surgery right now. Here is a scattering of research and statistics to help you make your choice.

An investigation into 200 patients requiring a second carpal tunnel release surgery....

"In 108 cases, the flexor retinaculum was found to have been released incompletely. In 12 patients, a nerve laceration had occurred during the primary intervention. In 46 patients, symptoms were due to the nerve being tethered in scar tissue. The re-exploration revealed circumferential fibrosis around and within the median nerve in 17 patients and a tumour in the carpal tunnel in four patients. In 13 patients, no specific reason was found for recurrence of symptoms.

We conclude that CTR seems to be a widely underestimated procedure and revision surgery could be largely avoided by reducing technical errors during the primary operation."
[A. Gohritza, J. van Schoonhovena and U. Lanza - From the Hand Center, Bad Neustadt, Germany]

TE: This shows that technical error during Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery can cause complications with healing, scar tissue, and nerve laceration.

13 patients had a recurrence of Carpal Tunnel Symptoms for 'no specific reason', meaning that when they were cut into a second time, the doctors could find no reason for symptoms.

TE: If you do deal with a doctor, make sure they understand that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Dynamic.

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"The numbness and paresthesias were relieved in eighty (98 per cent) of eighty-two hands in the open-release group compared with seventy-seven (99 per cent) of seventy-eight hands in the endoscopic-release group. This parameter was not recorded for three hands in the open-release group or six hands in the endoscopic-release group.

The satisfaction of the patients with the procedure, graded on a scale of 0 to 100 per cent, averaged 84 per cent in the open-release group compared with 89 per cent in the group that had had endoscopic release. We found no significant differences between the two groups with regard to the secondary quantitative-outcome measurements, including two-point discrimination, postoperative interstitial-pressure data for the carpal canal, Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing, and motor strength.

The open technique resulted in more tenderness of the scar than did the endoscopic method. Thirty-two (39 per cent) of eighty-two hands in the open-release group and fifty (64 per cent) of seventy-eight hands in the endoscopic-release group were not tender at eighty-four days. This parameter was not recorded for three hands in the open-release group and six hands in the endoscopic-release group. The open method also resulted in a longer interval until the patient could return to work (median, twenty-eight days, compared with fourteen days for the open-release and endoscopic-release groups). Four complications occurred in the endoscopic carpal-tunnel release group: one partial transection of the superficial palmar arch, one digital-nerve contusion, one ulnar-nerve neuropraxia, and one wound hematoma"
[Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.]

TE: Those are pretty good numbers.

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From a survey of Dutch doctors...

"The majority of neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons seldom operate without electrodiagnostic confirmation in line with the Dutch consensus guideline on this subject. In contrast, plastic surgeons operate more often on patients with clinically defined carpal tunnel syndrome even with normal electrodiagnostic studies."
[Department of Neurology and Neurophysiology, Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.]

TE: So the plastic surgeons are operating on people with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms that have normal nerve conduction, meaning, no compression of the nerve.?!?

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A post-surgery survey...

"Forty-seven patients (51 hands) underwent carpal tunnel release and 32 patients completed the questionnaire. 88% had a significant reduction in the symptom severity score, while improvement in function status score was achieved in 79% of patients. Mean symptom severity score improved from 3.41 points preoperatively to 1.85 (p < 0.0001) points at the last follow up examination, while the mean function status score improved from 2.73 to 1.99 points (p < 0.0001). Outcome was poor in six patients with slight worsening of either symptom or function status score. Three patients were treated conservatively for minor wound infection without long-term sequelae."
[Department of Surgery, Level 2, Belfast City Hospital Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7AB.]

TE: Again, pretty good numbers.

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A study on 14 hands on 13 patients over 70...

Carpal tunnel release is unlikely to result in a total elimination of symptoms and complete restoration of function when performed in elderly patients with advanced disease. [Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.]

TE: If I'm going to get cut on, I want it to FIX the problem.

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A review of 60 cases an average of 5.5 years after surgery.

87% reported a good or excellent overall outcome; the average time to maximum improvement of symptoms was 9.8 months.

However, 30% reported poor to fair strength and long-term scar discomfort, and 57% noted a return of some pre-operative symptoms, most commonly pain, beginning an average of 2 years after surgery. M. P. NANCOLLAS, C. A. PEIMER, D. R. WHEELER and F. S. SHERWIN]

TE: Not bad numbers, I guess...

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A retrospective analysis of all reoperations between 1998 and 2006 is presented. There were 22 reinterventions done on 21 patients.

"RESULTS: ....three times pathologies were found in carpal tunnel, which could not be recognized or treated endoscopically: severe bleeding in the synovia, massive synovialitis and a swannoma of the median nerve. In seven patients transsected nerves had to be treated: one complete transsection of the median nerve, two nerves with injured radial fascicles, two nerves with violated ulnar fascicles, one neuroma of the median nerve and one transsection of both branches of the ulnar nerve." [Handchirurgie, St. Josefs-Krankenhaus Essen, Heidbergweg 22-24, 45257]

TE: Not only did they 'require' a second CTR surgery, but 7 of them had had their nerves partially or totally severed the first time. Oops.

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Title: Long-Term Results of Carpal Tunnel Release

"From the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA

To determine the long-term results of carpal tunnel release, we retrospectively reviewed 60 cases, an average of 5.5 years after surgery. 87% reported a good or excellent overall outcome; the average time to maximum improvement of symptoms was 9.8 months.

However, 30% reported poor to fair strength and long-term scar discomfort, and 57% noted a return of some pre-operative symptoms, most commonly pain, beginning an average of 2 years after surgery

Carpal tunnel syndrome was job related in 42%; of these, 26% changed from heavy to lighter work following surgery.

We found significant morbidity from the surgical scar and decreased strength, and often considerable delay until ultimate improvement, especially in patients with job-related carpal tunnel syndrome." [M. P. NANCOLLAS, C. A. PEIMER, D. R. WHEELER and F. S. SHERWIN]

TE: So technically the results look good, until you take into account that it took 9.8 months to heal, and even then they still had pain from scarring, decreased strength, less that perfect 'healing', and less ability to work the way they used to.

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If you find other good Carpal Tunnel Surgery Statistics, send them to me and I may add them to the page.

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