PM undergoes wrist surgery at AIIMS

Baru said the PM’s proposed visit on board INS Viraat to witness the country’s naval capabilities including firepower in the Arabian Sea on October 15 and 16 stood postponed due to the surgery.

The surgery was performed by senior orthopaedic surgeon Prof P. Kothwal around 6.30 am, well before the hospital timing, to avoid inconvenience to other patients. ‘‘The Prime Minister came in early in the morning and was discharged around 11.30 am,’’ a hospital source said.

The statement from the PMO said the surgery was successful and the Prime Minister had returned home and resumed duties. The PM, however, will have his right hand bandaged for a few days.

Doctors said the carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve, running from the forearm into the hand, at the wrist. Symptoms usually start gradually with pain, weakness or numbness in the hand and wrist, radiating up the arm. As symptoms worsen, the patient might feel tingling in the hand during the day. Decreased grip strength, meanwhile, may make it difficult to form a fist or grasp small objects. The cause for such compression of the nerve is now know.

While the condition is more common among women than men, in the PM’s case, diabetes might have aggravated the condition, doctors said.

The surgery is performed through an incision in the palm or wrist. The strong roof of the carpal tunnel is cut during the surgery to increase the size of the tunnel and decrease pressure on the nerve. Recurrence of the syndrome after treatment is rare.

Though the surgery can be done with an endoscope, doctors at AIIMS followed the ‘‘gold standard procedure’’ open release way. ‘‘While endoscopy is convenient, the risk of nerve damage is high. So the open release surgery is better as it is done after opening the wrist,’’ a source said.