But as with all operations, there is a small risk of complications, which may include infection, nerve damage or scarring. You shouldn’t drive until you are able to comfortably make a fist with your hand.įor most people surgery is very successful.
If you feel there has been no improvement in your symptoms in the first six weeks after your operation, you should speak to your surgeon.ĭuring the first few weeks after surgery you should avoid heavy tasks, but you should start to use your hand for lighter activities, as long as it’s not too uncomfortable. Sometimes, the operation may not bring a complete recovery, especially if you have muscle wasting or loss of sensation in your hand but it should greatly reduce your pain. You should recover from the surgery in less than a month, although it may take longer to get all the feeling back in your hand, especially if you’ve had the condition for a long time. Your stitches will usually be taken out between 10 and 14 days after the operation, though some surgeons use dissolving stitches instead which don’t need to be removed. You may be able to start gentle exercises on the same day as your operation. It’s important that you keep moving your fingers and arm to reduce stiffness and swelling, and to prevent the nerve and tendons getting caught up in the scar tissue that can form after the operation. Your surgeon will be able to tell you which is most suitable for you.įollowing the operation, you might need to wear a bandage on your hand and wrist for a few days. The operation is normally carried out under a local anaesthetic and may be done by conventional open surgery or by keyhole surgery. Surgery usually takes place as a day case. The surgery, known as carpal tunnel release or decompression surgery relieves pain by reducing the pressure on median nerve. You may need surgery if there’s severe compression of median nerve or if the numbness and pain don’t improve with other treatments. Ultrasounds can also show some of the causes of carpal tunnel syndrome, including swelling in the tendons or joint. Ultrasound scans are sometimes used in diagnosis, because the nerve can become swollen before it goes through the carpal tunnel and this can be seen on a scan. When the nerve is damaged, the speed at which messages travel between the finger and the wrist is slower. This test doesn’t measure how bad your symptoms are, but it can show how badly damaged the nerve is.
CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY SKIN
Electrodes will be attached to your skin on the fingers and wrist to measure the speed of your nerve’s response to the current. These tests can be done in several ways, but one common way is to see how your nerve reacts when a small electric current is put through one of your fingers. Sometimes carpal tunnel syndrome can be mistaken for something else, such as pressure on nerves in the neck due to disc problems or arthritis, which can cause similar symptoms.Ī nerve conduction test may help and can be used to measure how bad the compression of the nerve is. You may drop things and find that activities needing fine finger movements, such as writing or fastening buttons, become more difficult. Your hand might feel weak, or the fingers numb, or both. However, if the nerve is badly squeezed, you might have symptoms throughout the day.
You may not notice the problem at all during the day, though certain activities such as writing, typing, DIY or housework, can bring on your symptoms. Hanging your hand out of bed or shaking it around will often help reduce the pain and tingling. The symptoms tend to be worse at night and can disturb your sleep, but you may also notice it when you wake up in the morning. You may also have an ache running up your arm to the shoulder or neck. You’ll usually feel it worst in the thumb, index and middle fingers, but sometimes it might feel like your whole hand is affected. It tends to come on gradually over a period of weeks.
The symptoms can sometimes be felt in the forearm or further up your arm. Carpal tunnel syndrome causes a tingling feeling or pins and needles, numbness, and sometimes pain in the hand.
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