Most patients who come to see me about carpal tunnel syndrome in Abu Dhabi have been living with their symptoms for at least six months, and many for much longer than that. They have been wearing a wrist support brace to bed, waking up in the middle of the night trying to shake the feeling back into their fingers, and struggling through their daily routine without telling anyone. The reason most of them waited so long is the same: they assumed that surgery would mean a large scar, a long recovery, and weeks away from work.
That assumption is no longer accurate, and I want to explain why.
What carpal tunnel syndrome feels like
Your wrist contains a narrow channel called the carpal tunnel, through which an important nerve called the median nerve passes on its way to your hand and fingers. When the tissues surrounding this channel swell or thicken, they press on the nerve and cause symptoms that most patients describe in a very similar way: tingling and numbness in the thumb, index finger, and middle finger, a weakness when trying to grip or pinch things, and pain that tends to be worse at night or first thing in the morning.
In my practice in Abu Dhabi, I see this condition very frequently. It is particularly common in people who spend long hours working at a computer or performing repetitive hand movements, and it also tends to affect patients who have diabetes or an underactive thyroid. Women are more commonly affected than men, particularly from middle age onwards.
What many patients do not realise is that if carpal tunnel syndrome is left untreated for too long, the nerve can suffer damage that becomes permanent. The muscle at the base of the thumb can gradually waste away, and by the time this happens, even a successful procedure may not be able to fully restore the strength and sensation in the hand. If your symptoms have been present for several months and are disrupting your sleep or your ability to work, it is worth getting a proper assessment rather than continuing to wait.
What the procedure actually involves
I perform minimally invasive ultrasound-guided carpal tunnel release at two Burjeel Day Surgery Center locations in Abu Dhabi, one at Al Reem Island and one at Al Shahama inside Deerfields Mall. The word minimally invasive is important here because it means there is no large cut, no general anaesthesia where you are put fully to sleep, and none of the lengthy recovery period that was associated with the traditional open surgery approach.
The procedure itself takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes from start to finish. I inject a local anaesthetic to numb the wrist completely, and then use a high-resolution ultrasound machine to see the nerve, the ligament, and all the surrounding structures in real time on a screen as I work. This allows me to guide a small instrument through a tiny opening in the skin and release the ligament precisely, without needing to make a large incision. In most cases no stitches are required, and after a small dressing is applied and a short rest period, patients are free to go home.
The majority of patients I treat this way drive themselves home the same day, and many are comfortably back at a desk within two to three days.
What the latest research from 2024 and 2025 shows
The published evidence supporting this approach has become very strong in recent years, and I think the figures are worth sharing directly.
A large real-world study published in the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery in 2025 examined the outcomes of 1,256 consecutive ultrasound-guided carpal tunnel release procedures performed in routine clinical practice, not under the carefully controlled conditions of a research trial. The results showed that tingling and numbness dropped from 99 percent of patients before the procedure to just 8.5 percent afterwards, and pain fell from 96 percent of patients down to 9 percent.
A separate long-term study by Cano and colleagues, published in the Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online in 2024, followed over 100 patients for between two and six years after their procedure. Patient satisfaction stood at 91.2 percent, and across the entire follow-up period, not a single patient required a repeat operation.
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the same journal brought together data from multiple randomised controlled trials and compared ultrasound-guided release directly against open and mini-open surgical techniques. The conclusion was clear: ultrasound guidance allows the procedure to be performed through a smaller incision, with full visibility of the important structures, and leads to better early recovery compared to traditional approaches.
Taken together, this body of evidence tells a consistent story. Ultrasound-guided minimally invasive carpal tunnel release is not an experimental technique. It is rapidly becoming the standard of care.
Who this procedure is right for
Most patients with confirmed carpal tunnel syndrome who have not seen meaningful improvement from wearing a wrist brace, taking anti-inflammatory medication, or receiving a steroid injection into the wrist area are suitable candidates for this procedure.
Before I recommend surgery to anyone, I carry out a thorough assessment of their symptoms, review any nerve conduction tests they have had, and perform an ultrasound examination of the wrist during the consultation. This gives me a clear picture of exactly what is happening, how much pressure the nerve is under, and whether proceeding with the procedure is genuinely the right choice for that particular patient.
Where I see patients in Abu Dhabi :
Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Reem Island
Gate Tower, near Shams Boutik, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi
Available on Sundays and Mondays
Burjeel Day Surgery Center, Al Shahama
Deerfields Mall, Al Shahama, Abu Dhabi
Available on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Both centres in Abu Dhabi are fully equipped for minimally invasive day-case procedures, which means you arrive in the morning, the procedure is completed, and you go home the same day without any hospital admission.
If you have been experiencing symptoms for some time and want to understand what is happening in your wrist and what can be done about it, I would encourage you to book a consultation at whichever location is most convenient for you. We can go through everything together and decide on the best path forward.
Dr. Mohamad Louay Jabban is a Consultant Orthopaedic and Upper Limb Surgeon with over 35 years of experience in Abu Dhabi and the United Kingdom. He holds the FRCS qualification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and a Diploma of Expert Musculoskeletal Ultrasound.