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carpal tunnel surgery post op

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976pamela
976pamela

I had my surgery  carpal tunnel syndrome 7 weeks ago on my dominant right hand.  My job requires alot of manual handling with adults with learning difficulties and pushing of heavy wheelchairs therefore I am still off work.  I am in constant pain and scar area is solid and tender feels lumpy.  I started physio exercises 2 weeks ago and hadnt really done much before that except wiggle fingers as I had not been given any advice at all post op.  2 weeks ago I couldnt even make a fist or reach my thumb to each finger, now I can make a fist and touch all finders and am using it normally but with alot of pain, more so at night and shooting pains, my grip is extremley poor which worries me after this length of time.  I am scheduled to have my left one done in around 6-8 weeks but I am now considering cancelling as I worry constantly that this will not resume to 100% mobility. Has anyone had this problem after this length of time? and did it improve up to 12 weeks post op?  any reply would be appreciated.

8 likes, 191 replies

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  • jeff79266
    jeff79266 976pamela

    Posted

    I had a carpal tunnel release 5 weeks ago. My symptoms that caused me to have the surgery was I had lost all sensation to my thumb and first 2 fingers. I had the surgery because my ortho advised me that I had tissue dying in my hand due to the compressed nerves. Now, I have lost sensation to all fingers in the hand. I can't make a fist at all or pick up anything that requires gripping. I wish I had never had this surgery. To top it all off, he is trying to persuade me to have the other hand done as well. . Cold day in hell that will be.

    • ashley9030
      ashley9030 jeff79266

      Posted

      I agree.  No way will I repeat this surgery.  In my case I have constant nerve pain from damage during the surgery.  Way worse than CTS pain.  I was under the impression from my surgeon this was a very common procedure with low risks.  Had I known there was a risk I would have more pain than before and be referred to a pain clinic for  the rest of my life, I would have never done it. 
    • winsome07235
      winsome07235 jeff79266

      Posted

      Hi Jeff, I had surgery 7/8/16 on my right hand and I have been in constant pain with my fingers and wrists. The pain is more intense than before the surgery. Sorry i did the surgery. Doctor wants to do left hand next week-I have already cancelled. No more surgery. Hope you will feel better soon.

  • phylisha91328
    phylisha91328 976pamela

    Posted

    I had just got my stiches taken out, is it normal for my cut to be still opened

     

  • winsome07235
    winsome07235 976pamela

    Posted

    I had carpal tunnel surgery on 7/8/16 in my right hand and I experiencing the same symptoms of pain, you spoke about. My fingers are tight and painful, my wrist hurt
  • loretta88032
    loretta88032 976pamela

    Posted

    Hi Pamela - I'm interested to read the comments because I was thinking I had a problem.  The surgeon did say that my hand might take 12 months to settle down but "pain" wasn't mentioned and I think what really concerned me is that it's been getting worse.  Anyway, after reading the info on this page I've decided to take action and get over this.  So, last night I massaged the scar quite vigorously with oil and gave some thought to the way I sleep.  I always sleep with my arms bent and my hands fisted and up under my chin.  Sounds weard when I type it, but, this is how I've slept for years.  Anyway, last night I stretched my arm out with open hand and just tried to relax it.  Well, I had a very good nights sleep without any pain and have had only a little bit this morning.  We are having a very wet and cold winter here in Tasmania so I've recently bought a pair of those fingerless woolly gloves.  I was wondering if my hand just needs to be warm as well as relaxed.  Anyway, I hope these points can be of help to someone else and I'm going to keep this up and hopefully things will improve.

  • dawn24400
    dawn24400 976pamela

    Posted

    I had the surgery about 10 years a go. Everything was fine for many years. It took about 3 months for everything to heal but it all depends on you because everyone is different. I think after 10 years I am going to have to get the surgery on my left hand again. My right hand is still fine after 10 years. I am not looking forward to this because I remember the pain of the needles in your hand. I hope everyone is fine all the best ??

  • elle66045
    elle66045 976pamela

    Posted

    I had my surgery 2 weeks ago. Stitches came out 2 days ago. Was hesitant to get the surgery because I did not hear of many folks who had an improvement and few had more issues than before surgery. I got tired of the tingling in all my fingertips so the hand dr. had me get tested with a hook up to electrical current. It confirmed I had carpal tunnel in both hands, but worse in my predominant hand. I opted for the shots in my wrist first. Lasted about 7 months. When I went back, he said only option was surgery. He said if I continued w/ the shots, it would deteriorate my condition and would not improve even with surgery. I opted for my dominant hand first. Surgery on Thurs, back to work on Monday and I am on computer all day. I had no restrictions other than to not put my wrist down when I type. To give me support, I put a rolled towel under my wrist. Long story short, I have no issues and scheduled my other hand 8 weeks from now. I have sensation in my r. hand. Stitch site is a little sensitive when I use the mouse, but OK if I put a bandage over it. My incision did not pass into my wrist, but ended at the end of my palm. Compared notes with co-worker who had it over a year ago. After 2 wks since the surgery, I am able to bend fingers at the knuckles, put my fingers out, up, and bend it back with a little pressure from my other hand. I can touch my other 4 fingers with my thumb and it gets stronger with each day. I guess I am one of the fortunate ones whose dr. knows what he is doing.

     

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland elle66045

      Posted

      That is actually the commonest story after surgery with between 70% and 90% of patients reporting an outcome like that. The reason it doesn't seem like that when you read the web is that the patients with poor outcomes are much more likely to be seeking help and telling everyone about it. Your doctor is however competely wrong about there being no alternative after only one steroid injection. Surgery at that point is a good option if you have had a good response  to the first one but if it's not convenient you can use a second, or even a third injection. They work just as well a second time and they do not prejudice the outcome of later surgery - both popular misconceptions amongst surgeons. Dr J Bland

    • elle66045
      elle66045 jeremydpbland

      Posted

      Speaking of my experience with my friends and co-workers. Don't normally keep up with what people say online. My doc didn't say after the first one that a second one wouldn't work because he gave me a 2nd shot to my other hand when I had the surgery. My CT issues have been ongoing for at least 12  years now  and he's the only one who followed up like he did. The rest of them gave me Motrin and a brace. Temp relief only. I'm happy I did the surgery and that's why I'm getting my other hand done. I am on a keyboard daily at work. Don't have time to go from one doc appt to another.

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland elle66045

      Posted

      I wasn't criticising - just pointing out to others who might read this that this statement "he said only option was surgery. He said if I continued w/ the shots, it would deteriorate my condition and would not improve even with surgery" is not a wholly accurate summary of the scientific evidence. Poor treatment of CTS is widespread - Motrin (Ibuprofen) for example has never been shown to have any significant effect on CTS but is widely recommended by textbooks, guidelines and individual doctors - as you have found. Splints/braces do help but are the least successful treatment overall and poorly adjusted and ill-fitting ones can make the problem worse. Surgery is generally pretty successful, perhaps surprisingly given what is actually done to the wrist in the operation - they cut a fairly important ligament. JB

  • terri75469
    terri75469 976pamela

    Posted

    Hi

    I know this is an old thread but I saw recent activity and thought I could add my experience. 

    3 weeks ago I had carpal tunnel release, from the moment I came back from surgery I started physio, and I am able to touch all my fingers now with my thumb,I do this throughout the day and up to 5 times an hour, I have also been massaging up the incision sides and it had healed really well when stiches had been removed.

    I have driven the last 2 days and my wrist wasnt very happy at all and it is my wrist that is givng me the most jip, although I have been rotating it.

    I am typing this with all fingers and thumbs at a good speed, the bottom line for me has been the massage, the exercises, patience and time is all key to getting better.

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland terri75469

      Posted

      It is really rather sad that we do not know what to do after carpal tunnel surgery. For all we can tell from the scientific literature your hand might have done just as well, worse or better had you done no specific exercises or massage and just carried on as normal A Cochrane review of rehabilitation after surgery found 22 studies covering all sorts of things - immobilisation, dressings, exercise, cold therapy laser therapy, electrical stimulation, scar desensitisation, arnica etc - but was unable to come to any clear conclusion that one approach was better than any other, or indeed better than nothing. Almost all of the studies were methodologically poor. Given the number of operations performed (about 54,000 in the UK last year) you would have thought that it would not be beyond us to organise some straightforward trials to study this but no-one seems to be that interested. - Dr J Bland
    • terri75469
      terri75469 jeremydpbland

      Posted

      I do strongly believe that common sense on my part played a huge role in my rehabilitation, along with a good surgeon,physio and mindset. also, if something hurt I wasnt going to push it, I have built up slowly, listened to what my body was/is telling me and been abit patient. I would like to believe that by massaging my hand it had a part in healing from outside in or inside out and to be able to sleep through the night again is a huge bonus. I cant comment on scar yet but all looks good.

      For others who are experiencing difficulties in getting better and voice a concern I feel they should be reassured by their Health Professional not dismissed, like some ive read on here. I feel for the patients on this thread who have been told its ok to feel pain and to be in pain, months, years after,  What could be wrong? does it not need investigating? it doesnt help the concerned patient. We are all unique and heal in different ways and whos to say that one treatment type fits all?

      From reading threads on here I strongly believe that some Health Professionals can not be proactive in their approach to patient care and rehabilition, patients most surely put their trust in  the Health Professional to give them the best advice to suit their, individual needs after surgery, how often does this fail due to complacancy and excpectation on the part of the HP? Each patients experience/excpectation is surely different.

      Maybe if the studies were poor could that have been due to not asking the right questions for what they were trying to answer? and not following up over a period of time? There could  however,in my opinion, be so many variables to consider in research for example  what ages, male or female, and other associated variables such as ongoing/past health issues. 

      Maybe some straighforward trials could happen in the future if younger patients are experiencing carpel tunnel related symptoms earlier due to texting, keyboard use and the way the fingers,hands, wrists, arms etc are being used. 

       

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland terri75469

      Posted

      Most of the scientific studies are of poor quality primarily because the researchers involved were not very well trained in reserch methodology but there are other issues. It is genuinely difficult to design satisfactory blinded randomized studies for physical interventions where it is almost always impossible to blind the patient to which treatment they are receiving and, as you have realised, there are many interacting variables which may influence the outcome so good quality studies require large numbers of patients in order to take account of all such factors and that makes them very expensive. It is surprisingly hard to get funding for CTS research as many possible sources of money consider it a trivial problem not worth investing in.

      It's worth mentioning that it is, contrary to popular opinion, not strongly relatd to keyboard/phone/gaming use. It is more related to age, gender and heavy manual work with vibrating tools. JB

    • terri75469
      terri75469 jeremydpbland

      Posted

      Always money seems to be the issue - I personally dont think CTS is a trivial problem (possibly accredited to my own experience) but I can see why sources may think otherwise.

      Im just pleased, that for me, at the moment my outcome appears to be favorable who knows whats in store for me in my latter years. Im lucky to not work with vibrating tools - but partial to abit of diy.

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland terri75469

      Posted

      At the moment the British Society for Surgery of the Hand and James Lind Alliance are conducting an online survey to try and establish what hand conditions are important to patients and what research needs doing. If you have a few free moments you could complete their survey. It's hard to put links on here without the aid of the moderator but if you google bssh_james_lind_alliance_partnership that will get you to the right page. JB

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