Decreased Wait Times After Institution of Office-Based Hand Surgery in a Veterans Administration Setting

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common peripheral nerve compression disorder causing symptoms of numbness, tingling, weakness, and muscle atrophy. Open carpal tunnel release (CTR) is a common treatment modality traditionally performed in the operating room with sedation or general anesthesia. It can also be performed in the surgeon’s office under local anesthesia only. 1 In our study, we examined the number of days from initial consultation and visit to operative intervention in a Veterans Administration (VA) setting. A significant decrease in wait time from initial consultation to operative intervention and from initial visit to operative intervention was hypothesized to occur with the transition to office-based hand surgery procedures, without an increase in complications. Methods | Institutional review board approval from the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center was obtained to construct a database of recent surgical procedures performed for carpal tunnel syndrome by the plastic surgery service. Operations including CTR in conjunction with other procedures were excluded. The minor procedure room is located within the plastic surgery clinic, with a single nurse serving as a circulating nurse. The hand and forearm are prepped and draped, and both monopolar cautery and bipolar cautery are available. A more specific description to a similar configuration can be found in