Carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy: indications for early surgery

Abstract

The incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome is increased during pregnancy. The common conventional therapeutic approach is conservative, as symptoms usually abate after delivery. We describe our experience with 65 hands (50 patients), who were treated initially by a conservative approach and later, when required, surgically. We found that all patients who (i) had either started having CTS symptoms during the first two trimesters or had previous history of CTS symptoms; and (ii) had both a positive Phalen test within less than 30 seconds and abnormal two point discrimination at the finger tips (> 6 mm), were eventually operated upon, either during or after pregnancy, as conservative measures failed. We therefore recommend consideration of an early surgical approach in patients fulfilling these criteria.