Reducing the economic impact of carpal tunnel surgery.

A nurse-led carpal tunnel service was started in Leicester in 1999. Many developments in the service have been patient-driven. A large proportion of our patients are not salaried and many had expressed concerns about the amount of time taken off work after surgery. This therefore prompted us to encourage immediate hand function after surgery. Subsequently, in 494 patients studied prospectively, we have seen 93% of patients return to work by 2 weeks and 99% by 4 weeks. This has obvious benefits in terms of reducing loss of income. Furthermore there is potential for considerable economic savings.