[Noah930]

In general, people do pretty well with carpal tunnel release (CTR) surgery. As in, 98-99% of people are happy they had the surgery.

That being said, you want to be sure that's what's causing your symptoms before undergoing surgery. You've had the nerve test confirming that you have it. But the symptoms that bother you and your physical exam should match up, too. If not, a little more thought has to go into ensuring that carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is what you really have. Otherwise the surgery's not going to make you feel better. I think that's where the expertise of the surgeon comes into play. It's not super-difficult stuff, but you have to have a surgeon who's going to listen to your complaints and do a reasonable exam (treat you), as opposed to someone who's just going to treat the nerve test.

Pick the surgeon, not the technique. That's a big mistake, IMO. People get fixated on technology, as opposed to the person (surgeon) on the other end of the blade. The traditional open technique works. The 3 or 4 or 5 common endoscopic methods work, too. There are plusses and minuses to all of them. I've tried just about all of them, and in the end--in the long run--it makes no difference how the surgery's done. There's probably less pain in the short term (first few months) after endoscopic CTR, but if you fast-forward a year after surgery, no one can tell the difference. Because the underlying surgery should still be the same, regardless of the smoke-and-mirrors technique employed. And generally, no matter where the incision is placed, people heal/scar pretty well.

Like with anything else in life, your best bet is to go with someone who does this a lot. I don't know if you need to go to someone who does 100/yr, but you're probably better off than going to someone who does 10. I think as long as you go to someone who specializes in hand/upper extremity surgery, you'll be as careful as you can reasonably be. FWIW, orthopedists and plastic surgeons make up most of the surgeons who do hand. Their specific background shouldn't make much of a difference--just pick someone who does CTRs regularly. There isn't a "Board" certification for hand surgery (there's a CAQ: Certificate of Added Qualification). You check if the doc has a hand surgical fellowship on his/her educational pedigree. Or you can check if the doc belongs to one of the two hand surgical societies: ASSH (Amer Society for Surgery of the Hand) or AAHS (Amer Assoc for Hand Surgery).

Best of luck.

edit: One other thing, regarding the timing of surgery. Unless you have severe CTS, you've got time to try other things before CTR. Try splinting (and if you can only wear them for 8 hrs per day, make them the 8 hrs at night when you're sleeping), oral anti-inflammatories, stretching exercises, behavioral modification and/or ergonomic changes. Some people believe in physical or occupational hand therapy. I'm not sold on those pneumatic stretching devices--the only ones who seem to push those are the ones who make a profit selling them. Try a cortisone/steroid injection. And if all those fail, then go ahead with the surgery.

People ask how long can they wait. Realistically, as long as it's not getting worse. If you wait too long and start getting advanced carpal tunnel, there's a chance that even with surgery you might not be back to "normal" due to some degree of permanent nerve damage. No one knows exactly when that is, but in general if you're having constant 24/7 symptoms, or a have a nerve test that rates you as "severe," or if you're getting muscle atrophy in your hand--then it's time to seriously consider surgery. Actually, if you wait until muscle atrophy, you've waiting too long and you've dipped into permanent nerve damage territory already. Don't wait that long.