Herne Bay Surgery

I'll pass the message on thanks. How does the hand feel now 24h after surgery (this is relevant to two other patients who are reading the forums at present)? JB

Sorry to be so late in replying
After 24h fingers were slightly swollen, quite numb with pins and needles. No pain or need to take painkillers just stinging sensations around wound.
72 hrs after op I was glad to have the sling to remind myself to be careful - it's too easy to forget and sling gave me protection (felt vulnerable without the dressing)
7 days since op - full movement in fingers with pins and needles reduced to the tips. Still not able to bear much pressure on palm
Still no pain - is this normal?(I was expecting it to be much worse)
SB

No significant pain after surgery is not unusual - in general it is not a very painful piece of surgery unless something goes wrong. Yours was a grade 4 CTS so the persistent pins and needles in the fingertips is not too surprising - this may take some time to improve. Difficulty applying pressure to the palm, particularly the heel of the hand, is common but does usually mprove with time.

Thankyou for taking the trouble to post - I think having some first hand experiences described on the site should be useful for other patients. JB

Stitches taken out today 13 days after surgery. All's well. Movement much improved over last few days, tingling abating somewhat, so am pleased with progress.
Some queries though -
1. I now have to massage the wound using Nivea as per the post-op instructions but there's no info on how many times a day and for how long this has to continue. I'm assuming it's to keep the site supple and moisturised, is this correct?
2. Does the wound need to be covered up and be kept completely dry still?

Regards
Sandra B

Probably better addressed to a surgeon but my thoughts would be

1) - once or twice a day should be sufficient (there is no proper scientific evidence)

2) - if it seems fully healed - ie no weeping stitch holes - then it should bo OK to get it wet.

JB