Pain Post Carpal Tunnel Surgery – Not So Simple

Recent study found an 8.3% incidence of regional pain following carpal tunnel surgery regardless of anesthetic technique.

I have seen people so surprised that following their carpal tunnel surgery, they were still in pain. Given the stats, it is not all that surprising.

COSTA, Veronica Vieira da; OLIVEIRA, Sandro Barbosa de; FERNANDES, Maria do Carmo Barreto  and  SARAIVA, Renato Ângelo.
Incidence of regional pain syndrome after carpal tunnel release: is there a correlation with the anesthetic technique?.
Rev. Bras. Anestesiol.
[online]. 2011, vol.61, n.4 [cited  2011-09-20], pp. 429-433 free article here

  • prior articles pegged “incidence of 2.1% to 5% after carpal tunnel release” for regional pain
  • women in in 40’s and 50’s higher risk
  • If regional block (blood pressure cuff used to keep iv administered local in), a prior study found clonidine in the IV may reduce problems but they did not find this.

Comments – suspect smoking and lack of Vitamin C would contribute as I found in other blog notes.

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