抄録
The prevalence of idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome among housewives at or near the time of menopause supports the hypothesis that some physiological changes may render the nerve susceptible to compression at this particular period of life. The syndrome may occur even in the elderly. We investigated the preoperative status and outcome in elderly to compare with the so-called normal aged carpal tunnel syndrome (control group).
The outcome of carpal tunnel release was evaluated retrospectively in 17 hands of 13 patients followed up over three months. Ages ranged from 66 to 93 years, with a median of 75 years. Three (five hands) were males and ten (12 hands) were females. Prevalence among the elderly was 35.4% out of all idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. Preoperative status was worse than the control group. Although postoperative motor nerve conduction recovered, velocity was insufficient because age was a risk factor for slowing of nerve conduction, and carpal tunnel release was effective in many cases. In three severe cases with marked atrophy of the thenar muscle, simultaneous opponens plasty was selected with carpal tunnel release. Pathological findings including tenosynovitis, edema, fibrosis, and hyalinization of synovium were more orless the same between the groups.
