A prospective study of outcome following mini-open carpal tunnel release

Abstract

Mini-open carpal tunnel release has been the focus of recent attention for surgical decompression of carpal tunnel syndrome. Other techniques such as standard open carpal tunnel release and endoscopic release have been well established, and outcomes, complications and results for these operations have been published widely. Our study uses the validated Levine Katz questionnaire for carpal tunnel syndrome to measure patient subjective outcomes at one year follow-up after mini-open carpal tunnel release. Thirty-four consecutive hands were enrolled prospectively with preoperative and postoperative questionnaires. Mean symptom severity scores per question improved from 2.8 to 1.3 and mean function severity scores per question improved from 2.6 to 1.3. Comparing our data to the historical cohort of Levine et al., there was a statistically significant improvement in postoperative outcomes in our population (p < 0.0001).