carpal tunnel op

[babyjane67]

hi
has anyone had this op?ive been refered for it&have my first consultation with the plastic surgery dept on the28th.
its in my right hand/arm which is also my dominant one!
ive heard/read conflicting stories about it but what id like to know is how long are you strapped up for&how long does full recovery take
tia

[babyjane67]

bump

[Sparklingbrook]

Hi baby. My Dad had this on both, but not at the same time.

He was awake for the op which didn't take long and came home with a big bandage which was on for about 3 weeks IIRC. Then they take the stitches out. But squeezing anything was painful for a good 6 weeks, and I know he couldn't drive for a while.

[Makinglists]

I was signed off work for 2 weeks. The first week my arm was pretty imobile but by the second I could do most things if I was careful - by then I just had a large pad on my hand. The hardest part was keeping my wound dry (glove/plastic bag strapped over it when having a shower). I've had both hands done (about 6mths apart) and its been well worth it as all my symptons have gone.

[babyjane67]

thanx for your replies
so did it take longer to heal with your dominant hand rather than the other&were you strapped up for longer?
i dont work or drive but i do have a4yr old dd to look after
my dp said he'll take a couple of days off to help out but obviously cant take too long!
what was it like to be awake having it done?not sure i like the idea!!lol

[Sparklingbrook]

Dad says it was the same time for both hands.

He seemed unfazed by the being awake thing. He didn't watch (they put a screen thing up). He said it was very conveyor belt like. Unfortunately everyone having it done that afternoon was told to get there at the same time then done in no particular order.

[Sparklingbrook]

Oh, and it totally sorted the problem out.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I would push to see an orthopaedic surgeon who specliases and hand and arm surgery. My colleague has had both done by plastic/neurosurgeons and has had lots of trouble repeat surgeries. I had my left hand done by a specialist hand surgeon (he does 300 of these a year) had bandage on for 3 days, wasn't allowed to drive for 5 days and was completely back to performing surgery myself in three weeks. The hand surgeons also get you physio the others do not another big difference IMO.
As my surgeon pointed out the neuro / plastics guys have a failure they send them to the hand surgeons - it makes sense just to cut out the middle man.
The hand surgeon also says the faster you use after surgery the better the success rate.

[babyjane67]

oh thats good!!
a couple of people i know had to have it done again as it didnt work!!
the waiting around must have been a nightmare for him then!!!
was it a long wait between having the first consultation&having the op done?
do you have to have physio or anything?

[Sparklingbrook]

I think it was a month, maybe two between GP referal and op. Not sure about physio.

It sounds like the sort of thing that is hard for people who haven't experienced it to understand. It kept Dad awake at night and he was desperate to have it done.

[babyjane67]

was that privately done lonecatwithkitten?we couldant afford that at mo.

[babyjane67]

ah i see sparklingbrook!
itll be about6wks between referral&first consultation so im hoping it wont be too long after that for the op!
it doesnt keep me awake but it gets v painful when im doing things like this!!
ive tried the wrist splint for two months but that did nothing!!

[Sparklingbrook]

Dad had his done on the NHS at the private hospital.

[babyjane67]

oh right!lol strange!!

[Sparklingbrook]

Yes, he got a nice room while he waited 3 hours to be done.

[babyjane67]

well at least that was a bonus!!lol
how long ago did he have them done?

[babyjane67]

one friend of mine had it done2or3yrs ago&was strapped up for6wks!!!!

[Sparklingbrook]

Last year.

[babyjane67]

oh ok good :) thanx

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I had mine done last year yes mine was done privately, but in the NHS you can tell your GP who you want to see you don't just have to go where they tell you. Get on Dr Foster and check out the local consultants. I had quite a delay between seeing the consultant and surgery, but that was due to me being the boss and not being able to have time off after surgery- no sick pay when your self employed. When you do surgery yourself you become very fussy about who operates on you.

[geogteach]

Have you been offered the steroid injection? I have had mine done twice but about 12 years apart. Only painful and out of action on the day that it was done. Not sure it works for everyone but an injection every 12 years seems preferable to surgery that puts you out of action for weeks.

[babyjane67]

ok i'll have a look at dr foster lonecatwithkitten.
my neuro who referred me said they dont do the injections anymore as they do the same thing as the wrist splints geoteach

[CityTiliDie]

I have had it done 3 times!! Twice on right once on left. Last time was 20+ years ago and had no problems since. Had both done on same morning under local and drove back to work after lunch, bit stupid I know but I was young male and stupid. Had both arms bandaged from elbow to finger tips but got bored with this and removed majority of dressing following day . I had 30 stitiches in each hand and despite my best effort I couldnt undo them (have previous form for undoing sutures!) Had them removed after 10 days with no problems.

It is an op that is done very regularly and with very few side effects or complications.

You will be fine and hardly see the scars.