Pain and numbness after CTR op
27 February 2012 - 7:29pm
Hi Dr Bland, I had my operation last Wednesday I am experiencing aching and pain in my hand with a burning sensation around the wound area, my hand still appears to be a bit swollen and my middle finger is feeling that horrible numbness the same as before the op, however, I have managed to get more sleep since the op. Is this part of the healing process as I can't remember how the other hand felt although it wasn't as bad as this one? Many Thanks Sarah
There is some variation in exactly what hands feel like just after surgery which presumably depends on factors such as how bad the CTS was to start off with, minor variations in the surgical procedure, and the coincidental presence of other problems. Starting out from your grade 3 CTS one would expect immediate cessation of nocturnal waking with tingling in the hand (patients often come back and say 'the night after the operation was the best night's sleep I've had for ages'). Loss of sensation (numbness) is often slower to recover. Local discomfort around the wound is not uncommon but is pretty much impossible to assess online - you need to see and feel it to get an idea of whether there is likely to ba problem such as local infection. If you are at all unhappy with it I would be inclined to try and contact the surgeon who did it, or if they prove to be uncontactable, show it to your GP. JB
I will move this posting to the Canterbury patients forum later today.