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Upcoming carpal tunnel surgery

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katpet2u
katpet2u

I'm from the US and have been having symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome for a little over 2 years. I believe it to be work related despite the controversy of CT being a repetitive condition. Workers Comp has denied my claim so I am going forward with having the surgery on my own on May 5. Surgeon does an open mini surgery. When I asked how long I would be out of work - they are going to want to know - he said if my job was light typing I could have surgery on Fri and be back to work Mon. I was very surprised by that! I didn't think you could drive so soon! My job does not involve light typing so he said id be out a few weeks. That's not very descriptive. My surgery will be on my dominant hand and my job involves heavy hand use. I work in a school cafeteria. I spend half my day making sandwiches, cutting them and wrapping them in plastic wrap. I have to lift pans of deli meat, boxes of rolls etc. The other half of my day I work on a touch screen register where I am constantly flexing my wrist. My job also requires a lot of paperwork and writing. I don't think my job will allow me to come back until I am 100%. I am already on light duty due to a previous back injury.

Has anyone else had an open mini release with a heavy hand use job? How long were you out of work? How long in general for recovery from an open mini?

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • jeremydpbland
    jeremydpbland katpet2u

    Posted

    I would anticipate some 2-4 weeks off that occupation if you are fairly average and there are no problems with surgery. Most of our patients are back to driving for moderate distances by 10-14 days but the intensive sandwich making might be a bit of a strain. Usually the first question to ask when time off work is an issue is - has anything else other than surgery been tried? Dr J Bland
    • katpet2u
      katpet2u jeremydpbland

      Posted

      First surgeon I saw had me take fit B6 and use wrist splint at night. Not much help. Second surgeon administered an injection that worked beautifully but says they only do 1 shot and it's mostly diagnostic. He says I would be out a few weeks because of the sanitary conditions necessary fir making sandwiches. He doesn't seem to be concerned about my other job duties. I guess I'll see when I've had the surgery and the stitches have come out. Thank you

    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland katpet2u

      Posted

      A good, but temporary, response to injection does tend to mean that you will do well with surgery too so that is promising. How long did it last? We published a paper about 3 years ago showing that second injections are, on average, about as successful as first injections, so it's certainly possible to do more than one and some patients do seem to escape surgery for long periods using a few injections. Surgeons however like to operate :-) Dr J Bland

    • katpet2u
      katpet2u jeremydpbland

      Posted

      I don't remember exactly how long it lasted. It was months. I have no symptoms during summer months as I have summers off from my job. My dr said they only do one injection. He also said if it worked well then surgery should also. I would certainly choose more injections than surgery but I do not have that option. 

  • jenny42237
    jenny42237 katpet2u

    Posted

    Unfortunately drs have given me many different answers to this. For what you do, I would think at least 3 wks. My dr waited 21 days to remove bandage & stitches & at 3 mos heavy lifting & hours of hand use are tough. Minor or not, its still surgery so your surgeon should be able to make a rec for your work

    • katpet2u
      katpet2u jenny42237

      Posted

      Thank you for your response. I would think with a job like mine the more rest my hand got the better before returning to full duty! I think he's saying a few weeks because I make sandwiches because I can't get my hand wet! 

    • Oldsoldier76
      Oldsoldier76 katpet2u

      Posted

      only the first three days of not getting it wet. fine after that.

       

    • katpet2u
      katpet2u Oldsoldier76

      Posted

      I don't think I can get incision wet until stitches come out week and half later 

    • Oldsoldier76
      Oldsoldier76 katpet2u

      Posted

      not true. Ask the doctor. I am positve that it is a three day wait.

       

    • jenny42237
      jenny42237 katpet2u

      Posted

      Follow drs orders. Getting it wet can mean greater risk of infection. I had to wait the 21 days but everyone is different. I was on smartphone typing, playing games for hours day of surgery but heavy lifting was whole different story. If your job allows, take your time as only you can know how you feel
  • Oldsoldier76
    Oldsoldier76 katpet2u

    Posted

    katpet I have had the surgery and I was on my computer at home typing three days later. It was not heavy typing but I could surf the internet. Do searches. Type some email. Edit and post on face book. Even some discussions on here. I even had one extra incision for trigger finger. Now two weeks done and I would be easily able to keep up with my job as a database administrator except that I am retired. You will be fine. I expect to be golfing in a month or less.
    • jeremydpbland
      jeremydpbland Oldsoldier76

      Posted

      I think what people perhaps need to bear in mind on here is that there is a great deal of variation from one patient to the next and almost as much variation in surgeon's views of how this should be managed post-operatively. Oldsoldier has had a very straightforward and quick recovery but that does not mean that the next patient's experience will be the same. Comparing stories on here can only go so far I'm afraid. The one thing that is certain is that if you do not follow your particular surgeon's post-operative regime exactly then if anything goes wrong they will immediately blame you for not doing as they said :-) Dr J Bland

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