surgery today

It's not a common symptom immediately after operation but I would not worry too much about it in the first few hours after surgery. The median nerve and it's branches have just undergone a marked change in their physical environment and a fair amount of local anaesthetic will have been used in the hand so some changes in symptom pattern might be expected occasionally. Try touching the sides of the fingers - ie the surfaces which are adjacent to the other fingers and see if you can map out exactly where the numbness is - you may find that one side of the index finger only is affected, possibly with the adjacent side of the middle finger or the thumb too. If you can map it out exactly that helps to tell which nerve branch we are talking about. Let me know how it feels tomorrow please. JB

Thank you for replying so promptly. The index finger (right hand) is totally numb next to the middle finger, I can feel a bit on the other side of the finger. The middle finger side next to the index finger is a little numb but it's the index I'm worried about - it feels very odd.

OK that sounds like a problem with one of the palmar branches of the median nerve. The same nerve branch supplies the adjacent sides of the index and middle fingers with sensation and these terminal branches of the nerve are sometimes traumatised during release of the distal part of the transverse carpal ligament. What has happened to the CTS symptoms otherwise? - did you manage a better night's sleep than usual last night? Provided the overall change is for the better I would think that there is a reasonable prospect of the index finger numbness recovering fairly quickly. If it still feels odd at the time the stitches are removed in two weeks we will try to test the individual median nerve branches for you to see if we can measure a difference between them but there is unlikely to be any active treatment required. 

I will move this whole discussion thread into the Canterbury patients section of the forum tonight as that is really where it belongs. JB

Thank you. Fingers are still tingly but definite feeling starting to return to the index finger now.

I'm glad to hear that - hopefully it is just a bit of bruising to one of the palmar branches of the nerve. JB

I meant to ask, who should I see about a certificate for the time off work following surgery? Also, my hand is getting better on the movement front but I just wanted to check that it was quite normal 6 days after surgery to still have tingling in the fingers? Does this decrease over time? Thank you.

I would have guessed your own GP would be responsible for work certification if your employer needs more than a self-certificate. Tingling in the fingers should be improving progressively but might be rather slower than is customary if some of your digital nerve branches have had a slightly rough ride during surgery. This should be reviewed when the stitches come out at 2 weeks and we will think about whether it needs testing again. JB