Turkish Neurosurgery 2007 , Vol 17 , Num 3
Ultrasonographically Checking the Sectioning of the Transverse Carpal Ligament During Carpal Tunnel Surgery with Limited Uni Skin Incisions
Keramettin AYDIN1, Cengiz ÇOKLUK2, Ahmet PİŞKİN3, Ersoy KOCABIÇAK4
1,2,4Ondokuzmayıs University, Department of Neurosurgery, Samsun, Turkey
3Ondokuzmayıs University, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Samsun, Turkey
AIMS: The goal of this clinical study was to evaluate the capability of intraoperative ultrasonographical examination to demonstrate the sectioning of the transverse carpal ligament during open surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome with limited uni skin incision (mini skin incision technique).

METHODS and MATERIAL: Intraoperative ultrasonography was used in the detection of complete sectioning of the transverse carpal ligament, and sufficient release of median nerve. Thirty-two female cases were operated with the limited uni skin incision technique. Intraoperative ultrasonography showed the sectioned transverse carpal ligament in all cases.

RESULTS: We adopted the sonographic examination to check the ligament during surgical intervention. The capability of ultrasonography is sufficient to demonstrate the median nerve and transverse carpal ligament especially when performing limited uni mini skin incision technique for carpal tunnel surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: We suggest the use of ultrasonogarphy for intraoperative checking of the sectioning of the transverse carpal ligament during the surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome with limited uni skin incision. Keywords : Carpal tunnel surgery, Intraoperative ultrasonography, Uni skin incision

Corresponding author : Keramettin Aydın, kaydin@omu.edu.tr