[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
What does carpal tunnel surgery involve?]

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[Text on screen: Hisham Awan, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery – Hand Surgery
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center]

Hisham Awan, MD: Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome involves releasing the transverse carpal ligament, which is a ligament in the palm that creates a border for an area called the carpal tunnel, where the median nerve travels and is where the nerve gets entrapped. So the surgery involves releasing the ligament. So that can be done with an open incision right on top of the ligament, or it can be done endoscopic with a smaller incision using a camera to release the nerve. And typically, patients can improve their symptoms almost immediately, particularly the nighttime symptoms where they have trouble sleeping. In determining open versus endoscopic, I think it's mostly surgeon preference. My preference is the endoscopic technique. That's a technique I've become comfortable with over the years. I think it obviously has a smaller incision, so I think the recovery and return to work and activities has been shown to be a little bit quicker with the endoscopic technique as opposed to the traditional open method.


[Text on screen: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
For more information, visit: go.osu.edu/carpal_tunnel]

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