Does Carpal Tunnel Surgery Cause Scar Tissue?

Question by Cynthia – Plano, Texas

I was told that my hand pain, hand numbness and occasional wrist pain is likely Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. My friend had surgery and was not happy. He said surgery causes scar tissue which can make the condition worse. It that true? Does Carpal Tunnel Surgery Cause Scar Tissue? Is there a better treatment option?

Answer by Doctors:

Great questions, most patients don’t consider the issue of scar tissue with Carpal Tunnel Surgery. They often get rushed off to a surgical procedure before they know what to expect.

Does Carpal Tunnel Surgery Cause Scar Tissue? Is there a better treatment option?
Doctors discuss carpal tunnel surgery and scar tissue

It is good to know in advance what the potential complications might be, recovery times associated with surgery, success rates and potential for repeat surgical procedures. Scar tissue is at the heart of a lot of these issues for Carpal Tunnel Surgery.

Almost any surgery is going to result in a fair amount of scar tissue formation. When incisions are made during surgery, the body’s soft tissue heals by creating scar tissue to patch things back together. This body’s healing process forms a web of crisscrossing tissue in an emergency effort to patch and hold the unexpected severed tissue together.

This tissue is different from normal tissue by necessity because it has to hold to areas of normal tissue together and prevent splitting open or tearing again. As years go by the unique patch work of scar tissue will be filled in with normal growth tissue that strengths and repairs the area that was severed. However, the web of scar tissue remains for the rest of one’s life.

For most areas of the body, scar tissue formation is not a big deal because the scar tissue is relatively small compare to the size of the body part being cut or the size of the organ being extracted.

However, with Carpal Tunnel Surgery, any scar tissue formation can create complications because the space is so tight and there are so many tendons, tendon sheaths, blood vessels, muscles, nerves, fascia tissue and epidermis packed into an already limited space with a lot of moving parts.

For instance the seven tendons that control the use of your fingers all run from the tips of your fingers and thumb, through the Carpal Tunnel and then attach to muscles in the forearm that allows your hands and fingers to move and work with dexterity, ease and beauty.

There are many layers of muscle and other soft tissue that have to be peeled away before a surgeon gets to the transverse carpal ligament which is then severed.

At the risk of being too graphic, the picture to the left gives a good idea of the amount of muscle tissue under the surface of the skin that gets disrupted, severed and peeled away and must scar back together in the healing process. There are many layers of muscle and other soft tissue that have to be peeled away before a surgeon gets to the transverse carpal ligament which is then severed.

The transverse carpal ligament is the biggest and strongest ligament of the hand and wrist and is the key ligament that binds together the 27 bones of the hands and wrist into a cohesive limb of the body. After this ligament is severed it also must generate scar tissue to heal and reconnect. Sometimes the healing results in more space in the Carpal Tunnel, sometimes it results in the same space and sometimes it results in less space depending on how much scar tissue is formed.

Scar tissue on the skin surface can be unsightly and destroy the beauty of the natural anatomy, but the scar tissue below the surface in the muscle tissue, around the tendon sheaths and fascia tissue and in the transverse carpal ligament can be a lot more problematic from a functional point of view. Scar tissue can limit movement and be the source of permanent tenderness and permanent loss of grip strength and it can create pressure on the Median Nerve.

Scar tissue is the most common reason that Carpal Tunnel Symptoms, such as hand numbness, hand pain and wrist pain gets worse after surgery than before surgery. This worsening of the Carpal Tunnel Condition happens to about 4-8% of people post-surgery.

Sometimes carpal tunnel scar tissue will result in the same symptoms post-surgery as before.

Scar tissue is the most common reason that Carpal Tunnel Symptoms get worse after surgery

Once scar tissue has formed there is not a lot that can be done from a surgical point of view. More surgeries will only create more scare tissue exacerbating the issues with discomfort, pressure on the nerve and pain from movement.

A person with arthritis is likely to generate more scar tissue than a person without arthritis, and runs a much higher risks of complications with a surgical procedure.

Now to your next question: Is there a better treatment option for Carpal Tunnel than surgery?

Doctors have developed a treatment where you can avoid the issues associated with scar tissue and surgery.

There is a way that most people can avoid this issues associated with scar tissue generation and carpal tunnel surgery. Doctors have developed a natural stretching treatment that is 97% successful for people with carpal tunnel syndrome.

The treatment is easily done at home during sleep when the body is in its natural restorative state. It is called the carpal solution treatment. It works by gently stretching the soft tissue in and around the carpal tunnel, restoring flexibility restoring circulation and relieving pressure on the median nerve. Once the pressure is gone carpal tunnel goes into remission and your body’s natural healing process takes over the way it did before you had this devastating syndrome.

Even after a failed surgery where scar tissue formation has made Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Symptoms worse, there is hope for natural relief and treatment. Most people, over 90%, can recover from a failed surgery using the Carpal Solution stretching Treatment. The Carpal Solution restores nutrient rich blood circulation to injured tissue and restores flexibility to injured soft tissue.

The Carpal Solution has been used by over 81,000 people in over 30 countries and continues to get a 97% success rate among patients.

Watch Professionals Discuss Their Experiences Using The Carpal Solution Therapy Pack.

dr robin cures carpal tunnel with carpal tunnel gloves
dr pollard discusses curing carpal tunnel with carpal tunnel gloves
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