2 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
This study is being done to see how well a new investigational medical device, the StimRouter (STR) System, will work to treat the chronic pain in people who have failed previous treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) pain, including surgery. These people have been treated for CTS pain before including surgical carpal tunnel release, but without good results, and they are still having pain. The study will look at both the good and bad effects of the StimRouter System for treating this kind of pain and as a general peripheral nerve stimulation device for treating chronic pain. The study will also help to understand other possible uses for the StimRouter System.
Carpal tunnel release is a well accepted treatment for median nerve compression at the wrist. With a prevalence of 50 per 1000, it is the most common compressive neuropathy. With a number of anatomic as well as systemic factors playing a role in the development of carpal tunnel syndrome, it is not surprising that there is a high incidence of bilaterality with this disease. Padua et al. reported that 87% of 266 consecutive cases had signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in their contralateral hand. In patients who have bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome that has not responded to conservative treatment, surgical release is indicated. In such cases, a decision must be made whether to offer bilateral simultaneous surgical release or to stage the two affected hands to allow time to recover from each. The purpose of this study is to determine the differences in short term disability between having bilateral vs unilateral carpal tunnel release. With better understanding of the way in which patients are impaired, better recommendations may be made on which patients to indicate for simultaneous bilateral procedures and who would benefit from staging procedures, allowing the patient to recover from one hand prior to proceeding to surgery on the other hand.