Surgery

Thumb arthritis may be surgically treated with a procedure called resection arthroplasty or sometimes called excision arthroplasty. The term excision means to take out. In this surgery, the surgeon takes out a small bone at the base of the thumb and fills in the space with a rolled up section of tendon. The soft tissue forms a false joint that keeps the thumb somewhat mobile and stops pain by preventing the joint surfaces from rubbing together.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is a condition affecting the wrist and hand. While the most common surgical procedure for carpal tunnel syndrome is still the open-incision technique, some surgeons are using a new procedure, called endoscopic carpal tunnel release.This procedure is done using an endoscope (a small, fiber-optic TV camera) to look into the carpal tunnel through a small incision just below the wrist. Using the camera allows the surgeon to release the problematic tissue without disturbi...

Thumb arthritis may be surgically treated with a procedure called excision arthroplasty. The term excision means to take out. In this surgery, the surgeon takes out a small bone at the base of the thumb and fills in the space with a rolled up section of tendon. The soft tissue forms a false joint that keeps the thumb somewhat mobile and stops pain by preventing the joint surfaces from rubbing together.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) occurs when the median nerve is squeezed as it courses through the wrist. The passageway through the wrist, called the carpal tunnel, is formed by the small wrist bones (carpals) on one side and a ligament on the other. In an open release for CTS, the surgeon makes an incision on the front of the wrist and hand in order to cut the ligament. The goal is to relieve pressure on the median nerve.