3 Weeks Post Op
Good evening,
I am really worried I had surgery 3 weeks ago and I cant bend my wrist back at all when i do try, i get a type of pulling sensation through the palm of my hand and wrist along with pain. My middle finger, half of my ring finger and some of my palm is numb. Its very difficult to do the stretches and exercises and it feels like superglue has been poured inside the palm of my hand. I went back twice to the GP because of the pain and the doctor said the second time that its infected and put me on antibiotics. I cant use my hand it hurts constantly. I have no grip. I don't think this is normal. I don't know what to do
Good morning,
Thanks for your reply.
The antibiotics has not helped with the pain, so that is probably right. The GP said around the wound was red so along with the pain it's infected. I'm taking my last antibiotics tomorrow and around the wound is still red and pain remains.
Please see your answers below:
Has your surgeon seen it or only the GP? Only the GP
When did it start to feel this way - immediately after surgery or only after an interval? It was immediate, it hurt so much to even straighten my hand it was so painful (my middle finger had a stabbing sensation). After the operation I woke up from the general anesthetic crying in pain actually and asking for pain relief.
Did the surgeon use stitches that had to be removed or did they use a 'dissolving' suture? My stitches were removed by a nurse.
How bad was the CTS before surgery and did you have the loss of sensation in the fingers before the operation or is that new? Before the surgery I had this problem for 4 yrs, but I had sensation in all of my fingers. Sometimes Id get pins and needles and after writing or using my phone too much i used to get a burning sensation in my palm along with pins and needles keeping me awake at night. I had MRI and NCS both showing nothing, they gave me the steroid injection and that did help for a short while.
Did the surgeon appear to encounter any difficulties during the operation? No, my release sheet said no complications. But the surgeon said that he also found a nerve further down that was trapped and he released that too.
Kind Regards
Charlene
The normal MRI and NCS are a bit odd. When you say steroid injection helped for a 'short while' - how short and how much did it help - were symptoms completely gone for some period or just reduced? That comment by the surgeon about finding a 'further nerve' is interesting and I wonder if he explored more widely than is usual for straightforward carpal tunnel surgery. I think you probably need to see the surgeon again as only he will know precisely what he did during the operation and at this point he is likely to remember if there was anything very unusual - 6 months later it may be a bit difficult unless he made meticulous notes. In view of the new numbness it might also be worth thinking about repeating the NCS just in case some measurements are actually worse than before surgery. I'd be interestd to know what the surgeon thinks about the GP diagnosis of infection - most of my surgical colleagues seem to be fairly sceptical of diagnoses based on a bit of redness around the scar. JB
Hi,
Okay thanks. The steroid injection worked for a few weeks and it took the symptoms reduced from say 100% to 45%.
The numbness i have now is just on the palm side of my hand not the top.
I have made an appointment today and i'm going back to see the surgeon on Monday. I will ask about the other nerve that he found and released too.
Should I carry on with exercises in the meantime even though its really hurting still? Should I be trying to stretch my wrist back even though i can feel pain and pulling sensation in my wrist and palm? My thumb is not moving properly, I cant make an L shape with my thumb and index fingers either, I get pain in my thumb when I try to do so! Should I try to stretch this too or will i be causing further damage?
Kind Regards
Charlene
I would probably be inclined to hold off exercises that hurt a great deal until you can ask your surgeon about it as it's only a few days - you can then be guided by him. It's unlikely to do any harm to lay off them for the weekend. I would like to know what the surgeon says if you don't mind following up. JB
I've been to the hospital and even though I asked for an appointment with the surgeon - I got to see the registrar for some reason? Anyway, I have been given a wrist splint and they are booking me in to see a hand therapist. He said my scar has become really hard and that I need to keep it moving and stretching it and because I kept my hand and fingers in a kind of curled position (because of the pain) that's why its become like this? I'm booked in to see the surgeon in 1 month.
All too common for people only to see the junior staff in NHS clinics I'm afraid, even when there is a perceived problem - sorry! Hand therapy is worth a try as long as they organise it fairly quickly but if they are planing a review in 1 month then one would hope that that means after 3 weeks of hand therapy. Splinting it combined with advice to move and stretch more sounds a bit self contradictory to me but lets see what the hand therapists advise. JB
Infection after surgery is probably over-diagnosed as the explanation for any problem after carpal tunnel surgery so I would be slightly wary of that as an explanation unless there is some positive evidence to support it. Nevertheless it's not really 'normal' for it to feel like that three weeks after surgery. Has your surgeon seen it or only the GP? When did it start to feel this way - immediately after surgery or only after an interval. Did the surgeon use stitches that had to be removed or did they use a 'dissolving' suture? How bad was the CTS before surgery and did you have the loss of sensation in the fingers before the operation or is that new? Did the surgeon appear to encounter any difficulties during the operation? Just a few questions to try and get a better feel for the situation. JB