Endoscopic median nerve decompression: early experience.

Open median nerve decompression is the gold standard for carpal tunnel syndrome; endoscopic median nerve decompression is an alternative. We compared our first 20 consecutive endoscopic releases with our last 20 open releases. The endoscopic procedure employed the two-portal Chow technique; the open procedure employed the Taleisnik technique. Postoperative patient assessment was performed by an independent occupational therapist blinded to the technique. There was no difference between the groups with respect to both subjective and objective outcomes. The time of return to work and to all activities averaged 3 and 6 weeks, respectively, for both groups. The choice between techniques should be based on informed consent by the patient in light of available data.