You may be wondering why the Duct Tape picture for this post? Well I never had any external stitches, only medical suture tape which always made me giggle. They always say you can fix ANYTHING with Duct Tape, and know now that it is true. 🙂
Today was officially three weeks since I had my endoscopic carpal tunnel & cubital surgery done on my right hand & arm. The suture tape has been slowly peeling off over the last week which has been mildly annoying. My physical therapist Kathy said if it does not come off after three weeks to just go ahead and remove it, which was exactly what I did. I took a warm shower this morning, after which I slowly and carefully peeled off the little bit of remaining tape…the pictures in this post show the results.
Okay, well certainly nothing I would enter into a beauty contest, but overall better than I had expected.
I have pretty decent mobility, but still have limited use of my hand. I am able to move my arm in most directions pain free, only lifting it straight up above my head still hurts a bit. With my hand I can make a fist, pretty tight but nothing I’d want to go boxing with lol. I am able to pick up light things, my cell phone, a can of soda etc. I seem to be able to type decently, though it still frightens me a bit and I try hard to be careful and limit myself. The incision in the middle of my hand hurts the most of the three, likely due to the location. The pain over the last week has been pretty tolerable, I generally take Advil or Motrin to help with the swelling then maybe one pain pill before bed.
I still have a fair amount of swelling, but it is improving and isn’t nearly as bad as it was a couple weeks ago. My only real complaint so far is that my hand is still “asleep or numb” for lack of better words. The numbness that I feel is three fold what I had prior to my surgery, my ring and pinky fingers feel nearly dead. This has not improved at all, but I have been assured that it is normal after this type of surgery and that the feeling should return, but that it can take months for the nerve to repair itself. I would lie if I didn’t admit that it was depressing, but I am pushing myself hard to recovery because I want my hand(s) back!! I do plan to go through with the surgery on my left hand & arm, but am waiting for some sign that the surgery on my right side actually worked before moving forward.
It’s been almost two years since your surgery. How do you feel now? Has there been any improvements or is your hand/arm still the same? Can you still see your scares? Did you have the surgery on your left hand/arm yet?
Hi Monica,
I have had four surgeries technically at this point. Cubital tunnel release on both of my arms and endoscopic carpal tunnel release on both of my wrists/hands.There have been some improvements, but I don’t credit them to the surgeries as much as I do common sense, therapy and rest.
I still have ongoing moderate pain that I deal with that varies depending how much I use the computer, most other activities don’t bother me. It is better than it used to be, but is still frustrating to live with. Most of my pain while still RSI related, is tendon based. I have soreness in my forearm above my wrists and sometimes pain/throbbing in my hands and fingers.
I honestly would not recommend the cubital tunnel surgeries unless your issues are very severe and have not improved after 3+ months of rest and therapy.
You can still see the scars on my elbows, and there is a fair amount of numbness on the skin around the incision. The scars on my wrist and hand are barely visible, i’ll try to get some updated pics posted soon.
Cheers!
Christina
I am 4 days out following ulnar nerve transposition surgery and endioscopic carpal tunnel surgery.I was hesitant on getting ulnar nerve surgery.I will have dressing removed on Thursday Jan.5th.Just curious how long it will be before doing a light weight workout .As with alot of us we want to restrengthen those areas.I hope & pray that i can get back to 85 to 90%.I realize it will require dedication & commitment.Good Luck everyone &Godspeed
My orthopedist has recommended ulnar nerve transposition surgery and carpal tunnel surgery. 20 years ago I had a radial tunnel release and subsequent surgery for scar tissue removal. Recovery was brutal, but pain was gone eventually and I regained nearly full use of my hand and arm. But I’m older now and nervous at the prospect of surgery.
Kevin and Christina, would you have the surgeries if you had it to do over again?
Sorry for the delay. I don’t check the site as often as I used to.
Looking back, no I would not have the surgeries again. Or at least not until I exhausted every other possible option. Deep tissue therapy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture are all therapy options that can help.
I had the surgery right elbow Sept 2 2016 and left elbow on Oct 25 2016 and I’m always in constant pain.. hands get so weak… elbows hurt all the time where I was cut at on both arms…doctor told me it will take a long time for the nerves to mend back to gather. Been in therapy 5 different times. Just a day by day thing…hopefully one day…