My fiance had surgery for carpal tunnel a week ago. A nerve conductivity test showed that his nerves were 100% compressed and the neurologist felt that the surgery should be preformed as soon as possible to avoid total irreversible nerve damage. Since the surgery he has no pain at night, however, his fingers and thumb continue to be totally numb. His surgeon said that it may take some time to get the feeling back, however, I have always heard that when successful, the numbness goes away almost instantly after the surgery. We are both starting to worry about lifetime nerve damage. Any other experiences? Thanks in advance.
hurtnbad
07-24-2008, 08:23 PM
Hello, "Ali". I, too, have just recently had Carpal Tunnel Release surgery on both hands. I had the right one (which was the worst) performed on June 10th and the left one done two days ago. I had prolonged and severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome on both hands, so my hand surgeon informed me that it could take up to 2 years to fully recover! I also had muscle atrophy in both hands, due to the severe CTS. My left hand and wrist are still in a semi-soft cast, and my right hand and wrist still get numb and painful throughout the day and night, as well as my left hand and wrist! I do realize that there is a great chance that my muscle atrophy will remain permanent. There are several factors that affect the outcome of the surgery, including the following: amount of time the patient suffered from CTS before surgery, the severity of the CTS, the reason the CTS developed, the success of the surgery, are there any other underlying conditions, obesity, diabetes, and performing some type of physical therapy after surgery (there are other factors not listed above). It is still rather soon to be able to tell whether or not the surgery was a complete success, since your fiance's surgery, but it does sound like he is on the right path to recovery. He is also still healing from the surgery, so it is completely normal for him to be experiencing pain and/or numbness. If you have any questions, I will try my best to answer them.
Sincerely, Tam
:angel:
