Hairstylist of 20 years having CTS Jan 25

Of course each person is different.  All I can tell you is that I had both my hands done at the same time.  My non-dominant (left) hand was much worse than the other one.  Immediately after surgery, I was able to use the fingers on both hands.  I was advised not to lift anything heavy for the first two weeks, after which I could begin to get back to normal activities, as tolerated.  Both wrists remained bandaged for the first three days.  The stitches remained in for two weeks, during which time I wore disposable gloves when showering just to keep the stitches from getting hung on anything.  I have had excellent results since my surgery last October.  I pray all works out well for you!   

Remember that people with problems have much more incentive to visit forums like this and post than those who have had trouble free surgery so reading patient postings on the web gives a falsely poor impression of carpal tunnel surgery. Most patients do very well. That is not to say however that there cannot be problems. Unfortunately an EMG described as 'severe' does not mean much because so many people have their own ideas of what 'severe' means. Unless you have access to the actual measurements you cannot really tell how bad it is physiologically.

For hairdressing you should be off for something like 2-6 weeks depending on how quickly you heal. Dr J Bland

Hi Meg,

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU FIND a surgeon who does Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Release. There are a limited amount of surgeons who are skilled in this but recovery time is highly reduced, your bandages are removed the merry next day and replaced with a bandaid, pain is only moderate for 2-3 days and there is no extensive rehab. Definitely the way to go. You can also get both done at the same time which is what most patients choose. If there are none in your area, you could possibly contact Dr. Jack McCarthy in Omaha, NE for a referral. I'm having mine Friday. Will let you know how it goes!

I have had both of mine done 18 & 12 months ago . Was done in local medical centre by a nurse practitioner . Local anaesthic and only took 15 to 20 minutes each time . Was only at centre for just over 1 hour each time , and that included having a cup of tea and a biscuit after . I have had no problems at all , glad I had them done . Has made a great difference to my life .