The surgery is usually carried out under local anaesthetic. The procedure will take about 20 minutes once your anaesthetic has taken effect. How long does carpal tunnel surgery take? Your doctor will advise you on which technique is best for you. Your surgeon cuts your ligament using a special instrument attached to the endoscope. Keyhole surgery uses a smaller cut through which a thin, flexible telescope (an endoscope) is inserted to see inside your wrist. Keyhole (endoscopic) carpal tunnel surgery Open surgery involves making one cut in your wrist so the surgeon can open the carpal tunnel and cut the ligament. The surgery is usually carried out under local anaesthetic, so you’re awake but can’t feel anything in your hand.Ĭarpal tunnel surgery can be done using open or keyhole surgery. This ligament sits across the front of your wrist and connects the small bones in your wrist, helping to form your carpal tunnel.Ĭutting the ligament creates more room in your carpal tunnel and reduces pressure on your median nerve - this is called decompression. Your doctor will help you decide if surgery is likely to benefit you.Ĭarpal tunnel surgery is a quick procedure in which your surgeon opens the carpal tunnel and cuts your transverse carpal ligament. This surgery has a high success rate in reducing the painful symptoms of CTS and improving quality of life. If these non-surgical treatments do not work and your CTS symptoms are affecting your daily life or interrupting your sleep, your doctor may then recommend carpal tunnel surgery. If you also have arthritis, specifically gout and rheumatoid arthritis, treating these conditions can reduce the swelling and pain caused by your CTS. Lifestyle changes may also improve your condition, such as taking breaks regularly to rest your hands and avoiding activities that worsen your symptoms. Wearing wrist splints at night to keep your wrist in a neutral position.Taking anti-inflammatory painkillers to reduce inflammation.Steroid injections to reduce inflammation - steroid injections can usually only be given two times in a year.

Performing yoga and wrist exercises (eg wrist extension, wrist flexion, wrist lift, median nerve glide and hand squeezes) to strengthen your wrist muscles - conversely, exercises that overextend your wrist should be avoided.Your doctor may suggest carpal tunnel surgery, but usually only after you’ve tried other non-surgical treatments. If it doesn’t, there’s a risk that your median nerve could be permanently damaged. Sometimes CTS gets better on its own after a few months. You’re also at greater risk of CTS if your family members have it. Have previously fractured or dislocated your wrist.Have another condition that can cause water retention eg diabetes or obesity.Have a job that requires you to repeatedly bend your wrist or grip objects tightly.

There is no single cause for CTS but you’re more at risk of getting it if you: By cutting through the ligament, the pressure is released and the symptoms often go away. Other symptoms include pins and needles, a tingling sensation, numbness in the fingers and a weakened grip. This causes symptoms such as pain or aching in the hand, fingers, and forearm. In CTS, swelling inside the wrist puts pressure on the median nerve. This channel is called the carpal tunnel and inside it are tendons and the median nerve, which controls some of the movement in your hand. The ligament runs across the top of your wrist bones and creates a narrow channel in your wrist. Carpal tunnel surgery is an operation to relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) by cutting a ligament in your wrist.

Surgery carpal tunnel