Is one-stop surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome safe? A retrospective long-term follow-up study in a neurosurgical unit in Copenhagen

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate one-stop surgery (OSS) for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) regarding symptom relief and patient satisfaction. OSS in our setting means only one visit to the hospital for surgery and no hospital appointments for preassessment or follow-up. We hypothesised that relief of symptoms with OSS is comparable with that in non-OSS patients reported in the literature. DESIGN This is a long-term retrospective follow-up study (56.5 months) of 1003 patients referred for CTS and discharged with or without surgery from an OSS clinic. Of the original cohort, 671 patients completed the long-term follow-up telephone interview. RESULTS Two-thirds of the patients were free of even minor symptoms following surgery. The symptom relief and patient satisfaction in this study were comparable with results in non-OSS patients reported in the literature. CONCLUSION The implementation of a clinical pathway and OSS for the management of CTS was safe with good long-term symptom relief and high patient satisfaction.