Carpal Tunnel Surgery Malpractice Attorneys in Pittsburgh

Medical Malpractice Lawyers Helping You Have a More Comfortable Life 

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a rather common problem that occurs when the transverse carpal ligament compresses your median nerve.  The common signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are tingling, numbness, weakness, or pain in the fingers or hand. Symptoms most often occur in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger. If you have problems with your other fingers but your little finger is fine, this may be a sign that you have carpal tunnel syndrome. A different nerve gives feeling to the little finger.

Conservative treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome can consist of wearing a splint at night for several weeks. If this does not help, you may need to try wearing the splint during the day. Avoid sleeping on your wrists. Hot and cold compresses may also be recommended.  Medications can also be used in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome.  The medications include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or naproxen. Corticosteroid injections, given into the carpal tunnel area, may relieve symptoms for a period of time.

If conservative treatment fails then surgery may be needed.  Carpal tunnel surgery is a rather simple procedure that entails cutting the transverse carpal ligament in order to relieve the pressure on the median nerve.  Despite the fact that it is a rather simple technique you are best served by having the surgery done by a surgeon who regularly does carpal tunnel release surgeries and has been specifically trained as a hand surgeon in a special fellowship program and has the designation of “Subspecialty Certificate in Surgery of the Hand”.

There are two common ways the surgery is performed:

• One way is an open surgery where the surgeon can directly visualize the ligament and the median nerve.
• The second type of surgery is an endoscopic approach where the surgeon is using a tiny camera special cutting instrument which is inserted into the wrist through a small incision in the wrist.

With either technique, it is very important that the surgeon is careful to identify and protect the median nerve from injury when he or she is cutting the transverse carpal ligament.  If the median nerve is injured the results are usually much more harmful to the patient than the original carpal tunnel syndrome.  We have also been successful in cases involving injuries to the ulnar nerve.

If you have a carpal tunnel surgery and you have continued numbness and lack of sensation in your thumb and fingers, electrical shock type pain in you wrist and hand and weakness in your hand you may have suffered an injury to your median nerve and should return to your surgeon or seek a second opinion as soon possible.  If it is determined that you have suffered an injury to your median nerve you should contact Berger Lagnese & Paul, LLC so that we can investigate whether or not your median nerve injury was a result of medical malpractice.

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We have been successful in obtaining jury verdicts and settlements throughout the United States for botched carpal tunnel surgery cases. To learn more about carpal tunnel syndrome, check out our carpal tunnel FAQ page.