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Still got pain after 5mths.

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Indigogirlu
Indigogirlu

Hi. I had CTR op done on my left hand 5mths ago and still have numbness and pins and needles sometimes at night in my end 2 fingers. I'm due to have my right hand done next year. I have the same symptoms in the same to fingers. I'm thinking maybe the op didn't work but the physio said it can take up to 12mths for it to get back to normal. I've never had a nerve conduct test as ive been told i present typical CT symptoms. Has anyone else experienced this?

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • jeremydpbland
    jeremydpbland Indigogirlu

    Posted

    Same answer I have given to many others here. Unless the CTS is very severe indeed before surgery you should expect prompt improvement in these symptoms after the operation, usually within days, certainly within two weeks. If they remain the same or get worse then there may be something wrong with either the diagnosis or the operation. The borderline case is when symptoms have improved but not gone away entirely -that can be hard to interpret. Without pre-operative NCS it is impossibe to be sure how bad your CTS was unfortunately. Dr J Bland
    • Indigogirlu
      Indigogirlu jeremydpbland

      Posted

      Maybe I need to see if they will do a NCS on my right hand before I decide to get it done. I've had the symptoms of CT in both hands for the past 3half years.

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland Indigogirlu

      Posted

      I make no secret of my own view that no-one should have carpal tunnel surgery without documenting the state of their median nerve with nerve conduction studies first but probably more than half the surgeons in the country disagree with me and they are entitled to their view. One of the main reasons for my attitude is that it is very difficult to assess cases like your left hand without the pre-operative studies for comparison. It's perhaps worth noting that a bad result in the first hand seems to increase the risk of also ending up with a bad resut in the other hand. If the left hand is, overall, either the same or worse than before surgery then, without the pre-operative NCS the best way of assesing whether the operation has been performed correctly is probably with ultrasound imaging - but there are not many doctors with experience of interpreting ultrasound after surgery I'm afraid. JB

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