Improved tolerability of open carpal tunnel release under local anaesthetic: a patient satisfaction survey

Carpal tunnel decompression is the most commonly performed procedure in hand surgery. This study was done to assess the effectiveness and acceptability by patients of open carpal tunnel release under local anaesthetic. We compare our results with both the literature and those of our previous study, after which were made alterations to improve the surgical and anaesthetic technique. These alterations included (a) injecting local anaesthetic with a dental syringe and a 27G needle in two stages along the proposed line of the incision and (b) omitting the use of a tourniquet, relying on the local anaesthetic with adrenaline to maintain a bloodless field during the procedure.