[Surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy: results from 314 cases].

A total of 314 hands of patients suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in pregnancy or puerperium were treated by carpal tunnel release. In 53% of these cases, other members of the family were also affected, usually the mother. Ninety-seven patients were operated upon at both hands. One hundred thirty-three operations were performed during pregnancy, mostly in the last trimester, and 181 during puerperium. In four patients, the operation was performed on both hands simultaneously. There were also 12 cases of associated De Quervain's tenosynovitis and ten trigger fingers. Severe night pain and/or permanent hypoesthesia was experienced by 93% of the patients. All patients were operated on with local anesthesia and in a bloodless field. The distal motor latency was 7 +/- 1.5 ms in cases with hypoesthesia and 4.9 +/- 1.75 ms without sensory loss. Of the patients, 98% reported good or excellent results of the operation during pregnancy via questionnaires. Since symptoms are often very severe in pregnancy and puerperium and the operation is well-tolerated by pregnant women and without risk to either mother or child, we recommend surgery, especially when sensory loss is present and motor latency is more than 5 ms.