New England Spine Care

Carpal tunnel syndrome

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Minimally Invasive Carpal tunnel Release

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If you are experiencing numbness tingling and pain in your hand and particularly the thumb, index finger, third finger, palm, and around your wrist, you may have carpal tunnel syndrome. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) affects an estimated 13 million Americans causing pain and keeping people from work and the activities they love.

 

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a nerve entrapment problem.  Your median nerve originates from your neck, travels to your arm, and then enters a narrow bony tunnel in your wrist which is covered by a ligament called "transcarpal ligament".  Either due to injuries, arthritis, pregnancy, the normal aging process, or wear and tear of a job, the median nerve may be compressed within the tunnel and as a result, you may feel the symptoms of numbness, tingling, burning, and at times weakness.

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Symptoms:

Patients often wake up in the morning with numbness in their hands.  Some experience a sharp shooting sensation in the same area of the hand.  The hand may become clumsy, and he may eventually drop things They may shake their arm and the symptoms of numbness and tingling may improve during the day.  In some cases where the carpal tunnel is more severe, they may have persistent numbness and tingling, and pain throughout the day.  This condition may be confused with a pinched nerve in your neck as it may also have similar complaints. 

 

Diagnosis:

Your doctor should be able to examine you, conduct an EMG, scan the wrist with an ultrasound to measure your median nerve, and if necessary, obtain a cervical MRI to come up with a clear diagnosis of carpal tunnel.

 

Carpal Tunnel  non-surgical Treatment

Occupational Therapy, modification to the workspace, and improvement of ergonomics can reduce or eliminate symptoms.  Most patients with carpal tunnel have mild symptoms and may not require treatment beyond a few weeks of bracing.  Topical anti-inflammatory medication around the wrist may be helpful.  In more severe cases,  once the diagnosis is established, your doctor may recommend a steroid injection which should be done with ultrasonography.  Carpal tunnel syndrome that is resistant to all above-mentioned treatments, may require a "carpal tunnel release.

 

 

Carpal Tunnel Release with Ultrasound Guidance

We are the first center of excellence in New England to perform Carpal Tunnel Release with Ultrasound Guidance. This is an alternative to open surgical release and endoscopic release.

 

Performing carpal tunnel release with UltraGuideCTR and real-time ultrasound guidance allows our doctors to perform carpal tunnel release with a minimally invasive technique while providing improved visualization of all critical anatomy in the wrist and hand.

 

• The procedure is done under local anesthetics. No intubation. No sedation.  

• Carpal Tunnel Release will take 20 to 30 minutes to perform,

• The incision is 4 mm (the size of a baby aspirin)  and does not require stitches.

• Patients are able to return to normal daily activities in 3 days.

• Most patients only require acetaminophen or NSAIDs for pain management. 

• This procedure is covered by major insurance and Medicare. 

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