I wasn't sure where to post this, but this is the only board I saw that focused on the wrist.

I've played guitar for 15 years. Hours and hours everyday like it was nothing. Tendonitis started developing in my fretting hand on the medial side of the wrist when I switched to classical guitar and breaking my proximal 5th metacarpal really made it unbearable. It's been about 5 years since... I can barely play guitar for 20 minutes without being in severe pain for a good week. I didn't think it was possible, but it has spread thru my elbow and into my shoulder. Now my neck hurts and my arm is so bad I can't really lift things like I use to. My shoulder pops. I tried a cortisone shot in the wrist not long after I had my cast removed, but that didn't help AT ALL! The doctor wants to perform surgery in order to scrape off some of the scar tissue and, perhaps remove the wrist's sheath altogether.... He doesn't see much purpose behind the sheath. I can see it now, my tendons going all over the place due to the lack of the sheath's guide... probably takes some getting use to! He said that I really shouldn't wait because it could get so bad that he can do much more for it now than later. His eyes opened wide when I described the poping sound that comes from my wrist's medial side when I pronate my hand after playing guitar... I guess that's kinda like trigger finger, except for the wrist... He said my hands are real bad.

I just wondered if anyone around here has had surgery for tendonitis or trigger kinda stuff. What was it like afterwards? What about sheaths? Has anybody had them removed?

Maybe try http://www.handuniversity.com/handschool.asp
That should give a menu of hand, wrist, and elbow conditions. Maybe you can find some information to help there.

I had a lateral release (tendonitis) surgery performed on my right elbow June 2004; I also had a cyst removed from my right wrist. I had suffered from severe tendonitis for about 2.5 years, with two of those years going to a doctor who told me upon my last visit with him for me to "....come back when I was in more pain!" Pain would shoot up my arm whenever I shook hands with people, as well as whenever I lifted just a soft drink. The surgery found that I had more damage done to the tendon (the cyst affected the same tendon as in my elbow) than what the second doctor had suspected. Recovery was slow since I had surgery performed on two joints, but it was well worth it. I had tried PT, cortisone shots, and light duty at work, all to no avail. But I only regret not having had the surgery earlier. I have full range of motion back in the elbow, but lost a tiny bit in my wrist. Good luck!