Am I just impatient?
I had release surgery performed on my left hand 4 weeks ago. And since then no numbness, tingling or otherwise. So from that point of view I'm delighted. However, my hand still feels stiff around the wound area and it's painful along the wound area when I move thumb across towards my little finger. This makes gripping of anything a little uncomfortable and I'm not inclined to try gripping with any force.
Turning the hand over from palm up to palm down induces a sliding feeling under the skin at the base of the palm which is a bit weird, and as it is one of my recovery exercises I experience it quite a bit during the day.
I had hoped that I might be driving again by now but any action that pulls my thumb is more than a little uncomfortable so that's a no-no both for steering or changing gear.
The most worrying thing though is the appearance of the muscle at the base of the thumb. It seems to be getting smaller and certainly doesn't seem to have the same firmness of the one on the other hand. I'd like not to lose the power there if possible.
So, as the subject suggests, is this just impatience on my part with this being a natural part of the healing process? For information before the operation my CTS was diagnosed as moderate (getting worse) with no grip issues, just numbness and tingling.
Any comments, suggestions or reassurance gratefully received.
Thanks for the reply. At least it make me feel less like a whinger. Interestingly, I've not really been able to find much about the healing process for the surgery if it goes well. Lots about the potential issues but not much about what would be considered normal. I suspect, as far as the cut goes, I'm normal but slow. Hence the impatient comment.
I have a follow up appointment coming up in 2 weeks time but I will get in touch with them and see if it is worth going in earlier.
Thanks for your time again; much appreciated.
You're welcome. Curiously we don't know a lot about what exactly happens to the tissues in the region of the carpal tunnel after the surgeons have done their stuff. I've never seen any detailed pathological studies of, for example, the carpal tunnel area in patients who have died from other causes shortly after surgery. JB
That sounds like perfect research material, just there!
I guess I really meant above ground, so to speak, from the patient's point of view. Curiously my hand feels significantly better today. Yesterday and the day before I was getting really quite down about the recovery so far, and then late yesterday evening and when I woke this morning the hand feels so much better. Not perfect by a long way but definitely and considerably better. This is the second time I've had a large step-wise improvement in a short time.
I'm waiting for a call back about the thumb.
Again, thanks.
Sounds like positive news so far. It's hard to explain how to test the thumb movement that matters (which is technically call abduction) online - we might have to do a little video at some point ourselves but for now this Youtube clip is not bad - the movement which is affected by CTS (and by injury to the recurrent motor branch of the median nerve) is the third one illustrated in this clip which shows, in order, flexion, extension abduction and adduction. It is a pity that those last two terms both look and sound so much alike! JB
The second of those movements looks wierd! The first is a copy of one of my recovery exercises.
And even more positive news. I saw a physio today who's more than happy that there's no wasting of the muscle. I just need to get it back in training! Light training that is...
As for the rest, they reminded me that soft tissue recovery is often a matter of time and, as far as they were concerned, I need to wait to see where I am at the six and eight week mark before getting too worried.
I'm seeing my consultant on March the 10th (a week later than originally planned, unfortunately) which will be closer to 7 weeks than 6 but is close enough now.
And I managed to drive on Saturday too, so it must be on the mend.
Thanks again for your comments; an encouraging voice is very welcome.
It does sound as though you are making some progress and 6 weeks or so probably is a good point at which to make an initial assessment of progress after carpal tunnel surgery. The acute wound healing should all be over by then and most people with mild to moderate CTS will be pretty much back to normal so you can start to think more seriously about the few who are not. JB
Most of those symptoms sound like the consequences of cutting the transverse carpal ligament in order to release the median nerve. In most cases these symptoms would be starting to improve by now but they can be persistent in some patients, even permanent if you are unlucky.
Wasting of the muscle of the thenar eminence (the bulge at the base of the thumb) is a different matter and should not occur after surgery. That should be examined by someone competent and if there is any doubt about it some further nerve conduction and possibly EMG studies should be performed. A rare but significant complication of carpal tunnel surgery is damage to the small median nerve branch which supplies that muscle. It is a purely motor so there is no pain or sensory change associated with damage to it - just weakness and wasting of the thumb muscle. Go back and see the surgeon who did the operation and get them to test the power in your thumb. JB