Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Secondary to an Intracanalicular Lipoma

A 55-year-old woman had a three-year history of left carpal tunnel syndrome, confirmed by electromyography, with paraesthesia affecting the first three fingers. Rest and medical treatment controlled her symptoms at first; they later became unresponsive to treatment. No preoperative imaging, ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging, was obtained before surgery. At surgery, the flexor retinaculum was opened and an adipose mass was found within the carpal tunnel, adjacent to the median nerve (Fig. 1). It was excised in its entirety, the wound was irrigated and the skin was closed. Histopathology confirmed lipoma. Postoperative follow-up, clinical or electromyographic, was not recorded in the information available.