Recurrent compressive neuropathy of the median nerve at the wrist: treatment with autogenous saphenous vein wrapping.

Recurrence of symptoms occurs in a significant number of patients after surgical decompression for carpal tunnel syndrome, and its management is both challenging and difficult. Fifteen patients with recurrent carpal tunnel syndrome were treated with a vein wrapping technique using the autologous saphenous vein. A total of 48 operations had been performed on these patients before wrapping the median nerve with a saphenous vein graft. At a mean follow-up of 43 months all patients reported significant pain relief and improvement in their sensory disturbances. Two-point discrimination and the findings of nerve conduction studies also improved.