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Updated: May 17, 2026
Functional and Physiological Methods of Evaluating Median Nerve Regeneration in the Rat
Published on: April 18, 2020
[Neurolysis of the median nerve in the elderly: a long term evaluation]
Omar Faour Martín1, Miguel Ángel Martín Ferrero, Jose Antonio Valverde García
1Servicio de Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología, Hospital de Ávila, Ávila, Spain. ofmartin@msn.com
Purpose:
Carpal tunnel release by opening the flexor retinaculum is considered a satisfactory treatment. However, several factors, like ageing, may influence postoperative results. We present the long term outcomes in elderly patients.
Methods:
This is an historical prospective long term study of 52 patients who received surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome when they were 65 or older. We have carried out a clinical-functional (with the Levine questionnaire), electromyographic and dynamometric valuation of the patients studied, up to ten years from the surgery.
Results:
The results of Levine's questionnaire, revealed favourable data for a mean follow-up of 10.35 years, with a mean improvement in the clinical score of 1.93 points (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72-2.17) and in the functional score of 0.83 points (95% CI: 0.68-0.99). Similarly, the electromyographic values showed a significant improvement compared to preoperative ones (mean difference of sensory velocity of 8.43m/s, 95% CI: 8.17-11.63; mean difference of motor latency of 1.65ms, 95% CI: 1.24-2.25). The data on grip strength did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusions:
In elderly patients, complete section of the carpal transverse ligament, allows maintaining favourable differences in most of the parameters studied, ten years after surgery, making the surgical treatment a recommendable option.
