Carpal tunnel is a very common hand affliction where one of the nerves supplying the fingers becomes compressed as it comes through the wrist. The main symptoms of carpal tunnel are finger numbness which often occurs at night or while driving the car, some patients also experience pain. First treatment steps are usually splinting and activity modification. A nerve test will be ordered to confirm which nerves are affected in your arm as there are several which may be confused with carpal tunnel.
If required, carpal tunnel surgery is most often performed under local anaesthetic. The traditional open method may be done in severe cases, however, Dr Fortin prefers the ‘endoscopic’ method for routine carpal tunnel release. For this she uses the Agee technique which leaves a small scar at the wrist. For more information on this technique visit www.mycarpaltunnel.org.
