Our 15-year experience of complications of Chow's technique for endoscopic carpal tunnel releasing.

PURPOSE: Our objective in this study was to summarize our 15-year experience treating carpal tunnel syndrome released with Chow technique, focusing on the complications and how to avoid them. METHOD: We systematically evaluated the postoperative complications in 211 patients who underwent endoscopic carpal tunnel release (ECTR) with Chow technique. We recorded the incidence of complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I), median nerve and digital nerve injury, superficial palmar arch injury, and tendon injury. RESULT: The overall incidence of complications was 5.6%, and involved 10 cases of CRPS I, 1 case of median nerve trunk injury, and 1 case of superficial palmar arch injury. No other complication occurred. We used oral pregabalin and neurotropin to relieve CRPS I symptoms, and performed second operations for the other two complications. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that ECTR could reduce structural and cutaneous complications, but increase the incidence of nerve injury. we speculated that the incidence of CRPS I may be higher in the Asian population.