Minimally invasive ultrasound-guided thread carpal tunnel release

@snowtime Llln, do you know the names of the surgeons you mentioned for this minimally invasive carpal run surgery?

@jenniferhunter
From my research, Jeffrey S. Brault, D.O. and Alexander Y. Shin, M.D. were the doctors at Mayo who developed this procedure and are currently doing the procedure.
I am been hoping that someone who had the procedure would reply as I would like to hear about their results. It seems it could be a much shorter recovery than the traditional carpal tunnel surgery.

@snowtime Llln, I think that is a great idea to break this into a new discussion, and it will probably generate more interest. Our moderators can certainly do that and create a new discussion. I asked about the doctors because it was interesting and something not everyone knows about. I had an open carpal tunnel release years ago on one of my hands. FYI, you can always contact a moderator by reporting your comment and typing a message to them. If you click the 3 dots at the lower right of your comment, you can select to report the comment, and request to make a new discussion. Would you prefer to request this yourself? I'm always happy to help.

@jenniferhunter I am having my carpal tunnel treated at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. I asked my surgeon, who runs the hand nerve clinic, and is a board certified plastic surgeon, about this because I had read about it. She told me that they had been experimenting on it but were not happy with the results so she is not doing that procedure. She instead did an endoscopic release on my worst hand.

My thought is that this new process probably requires extensive experience. I recently had a knee replacement and my surgeon's, and my, principal criteria for a knee replacement surgeon is extensive experience doing the exact procedure. For example, I received the extremely rare bicruciate retaining implant so I still have all my ligaments. But the surgery is complex and only a handful of surgeons do it. Mine has been doing it for a decade. But I would not have let someone not vastly experienced do it for me.

The technique was actually originated by two physicians: Dr. Danzhu Guo and Dr. Danging Guo of Boston.

So my descending order would be the ultrasound guided thread but only if I could get to one of the highly experienced surgeons doing it; endoscopic surgery; and open surgery. You can find others by googling.

@steveinarizona Steve, that's really interesting that they can do a knee replacement and save all the ligaments! Is there a brand name for the bicruciate retaining implant? Does that give you better function and range of motion than a standard knee replacement? I'm glad to hear you are getting this done at Mayo. I have had a great experience at Mayo Rochester with spine and ankle fracture repair surgeries. Thanks for sharing that information.

Hello @snowtime,

I moved your comment and created a new discussion titled:

"Minimally invasive ultrasound-guided thread carpal tunnel release"
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/minimally-invasive-ultrasound-guided-thread-carpal-tunnel-release/

If you are comfortable sharing, has this procedure been suggested to you or are you currently in the research phase in regards to carpal tunnel surgery?

@jenniferhunter

My carpal tunnel surgery was at Mayo. My knee surgery was with a single practitioner who has an international hip/knee replacement practice and he is in Phoenix.

My knee surgeon is the primary inventor of the minimally invasive Superpath hip replacement procedure. Five years ago he replaced my left hip and I had no post surgery pain. Eleven months ago he replaced my right knee and again, no post surgery pain.

The BCR procedure is very rare. It requires a much more complex procedure. Mine was a Smith & Nephew Journey II BCR implant. The company has since taken it off the US website because it is so rarely used but it is still used a lot in foreign countries. The company nonetheless supports my surgeon with the implant. The literature is still open as to whether it provides a better or worse outcome but it does appear to provide a much more natural feeling.

I would not have it done if my surgeon were not vastly experienced at doing it. There is actually a video on the Internet of him performing the procedure in 2020 at an Orthopedic Innovations Conference. he has been doing them for a decade. But they can only be done if the ACL and PCL are strong. Mine were.

Mayo has great hip and knee surgeons. But I actually have a better one, perhaps the best hip/knee replacement surgeon in the country. Not only did he give me a BCR, he did not use a tourniquet, did a minimally invasive mid vastus cut, and using the CORI robot did a Functional alignment to repair my severe valgus misalignment.

The one negative: he does not participate in Medicare. I had to pay him his fee directly. The best $5,500.00 I have ever spent.

But getting back to the CTS surgery, yes I believe I have the best hand surgeon, at least in the region, in Shelley Noland at the Mayo Clinic Phoenix.

@JustinMcClanahan

Thank you so much for making this a new topic.
I haven’t read all comments yet as we are on the road at the moment.
Currently researching the procedure. Looks like we got a lot of info. I am sure we will have more questions now!
Did anyone have this procedure done at Mayo in Rochester?

@jenniferhunter
Thank you much for your help.😊