Carpal tunnel syndrome: report of 430 operations.
Analyzed are data on 430 operations in 326 patients for median nerve compression at the wrist. Follow-up data from a patient self-evaluation questionnaire were available for 71% of patients. Incidence was highest in the fifth and sixth decades of life, and 65% of patients were female. For most patients, symptoms were worse at night or with excessive hand use or both. Self-evaluation questionnaires showed total relief of symptoms after operation in 51% of cases, 75% or greater improvement in 31%, and 50% or greater improvement in 10%. The dominant hand was more severely involved in two thirds of the patients and 78% of patients had occupations involving considerable use of their hands, suggesting that an occupational factor might be involved in the genesis or aggravation of median nerve compression.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002349:Carpal Tunnel Syndrome / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009790:Occupations; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology