'Very cool technology.' Procedure treats hand pain, carpal tunnel in minutes
In the past, carpal tunnel surgery meant going into the hospital for a bigger incision in the hand, having sutures and wearing a splint for a week or two.
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Advances have been made in the treatment of people who have hand pain and carpal tunnel syndrome, a surgeon explained to News 12.
They are considered minimally invasive compared to procedures in the past. Dr. David Wei says the newest technology allows him to get a set eyes and instruments on a delicate area of the hand.
"I'm looking at the screen so I can follow all the parts of anatomy and branches of the nerve," he says.
MORE: Don't ignore hand and wrist pain. Here are 3 ways to alleviate it.
Wei says the median nerve is the key to hand muscle movement because it passes through the narrow carpal tunnel that goes from your wrist to your hand. In patients with carpal tunnel syndrome, the nerve is pinched, causing hand pain, tingling and numbness.
"We're using this instrument that goes through the tunnel, right next to the nerve. There's actually very cool technology that inflates these protective balloons that allows us to make room for a very small knife to cut and release the ligament. The ligament is causing the whole problem, the ligament is literally pinching the nerve, so once you cut it, it gives the nerve a whole lot more room. It kind of opens up and it stays like that," Wei sats.
In the past, carpal tunnel surgery meant going into the hospital for a bigger incision in the hand, having sutures and wearing a splint for a week or two.
"It's amazing. Now you come in, it's a day surgery, and within 10 or 15 minutes the procedure is over," he says.
Wei says the procedure doesn't work on 5% of patients. That is usually because the pinched nerve is coming from elsewhere in the body, such as neck. Wei says with those cases, while the procedure doesn't make the problem better, it doesn't make it worse.
