Numbness after carpel surgery

It could be a temporary condition from the surgery...He should call his physician to see what he says on this...

I have had carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand and four years later i still have the same numbness still there and seems to be going farther up my arm now, and my left hand is considerably weaker still to this day. yet the doctors can't seem to find the cause of it, anyone have the same problem with any answers?

I had the op two days ago and have a numbness on the side of my ring finger which wasnt as bad before the op. The surgeon says its early days and is normal but the finger feels worse than before, as though anaesthetic is in it. Any ideas on why this is, and will it improve. Its my left hand.

Hi PrettyPrincess and welcome to ehealth: It is early in your recovery...Give yourself some time to heal...Numbness is often a part of the surgery for a short period of time...We are each different...Take care...

Caroline

I had my surgery 7 weeks ago on both hands, the left is still numb across 3 of my fingers, waiting to see the doctor again next week

i had surgery yesterday. im 21 woman... doc said i was his worst youngest to ever have this prob. i did the bilateral surgery done, to get over with. my right hand is all ok with exception of pain where he did the work. on my left hand (my worst hand) my middle finger is completely numb..and on inside of pointer finger and inside right of ring finger. is also numb... not too worried bout that.... but wen i straighten my left arm completely i get a strong sharp jolt from nervs shoot up and down my arm.... is any of this normal???? calling doc tomorrow to see wats goin on...

shortie,

It depends. On the left, worst side, if the fingers were completely numb before the surgery, they may actually go through a period of increased pain after the surgery. The nerves are in the process of waking up.

I'm sure you have sat on your foot to the point of it being totally numb, totally asleep. As it wakes up, there is a period where it is in a state that you just don't want to touch or move it because that causes an intense painful "weird" feeling. The foot then continues to wake up and the feeling goes away.

So, your hand could be going through the same stages.

That intense feeling is what patients with causalgia feel all the time. It is strange because light touch is worse than deep pressure. Blowing air across the region or putting just a light sheet on the skin can send these patients through the roof.


Tell the surgeon exactly what your symptoms are, how they have changed (if any), what makes it worse/better, etc. Hopefully, it is a temporary problem. In the meantime, keep the hand elevated, and do gentle active finger range of motion. The finger ROM helps with swelling and to prevent scaring of the tendons within the carpal tunnel.

Good luck.

it been a week since i had it done and i find same problem be carefull dont work it to hard i very numb in eves i do wiggle my fingers about all day to try wake up the nerves but its hard with stiches still in

hi all, had right carpal surgery done tues. 4:30 hand still feels numb and tingly. arms feel very stiff from before surgery. am a little freaked out because of cervical spine problems-already had anterior discectomy & fusion... worried that the problems in my hand are related more to some sort of nerve blockage in my neck, than CTS.

My thumb was numb for awhile after surgery but thank God it has gone away. Good luck but I have other problems now with my hands than numbness - cramping. Darn!

I have had Carpal tunnel surgery on both hands. Yet my ring finger and middle finger are always numb. I also get electrical shocks shooting down my arm and hands on a regular basis. In addition Ill wale up and my arm and hand is burning and shooting extreme pain throughout my hand and arm. My EMG before surgery was 11 my EMG 1 year after surgery is 9.

The Neurologist said you don't wake up one day and have carpal tunnel syndrome. Yet this is exactly what happened to me. I woke up and could not lift my coffee pot to dump the water into.

My hands hurt so bad yet everyone thinks it is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Ive had the surgeries now what?

I have had Carpal tunnel surgery on both hands. Yet my ring finger and middle finger are always numb. I also get electrical shocks shooting down my arm and hands on a regular basis. In addition Ill wale up and my arm and hand is burning and shooting extreme pain throughout my hand and arm. My EMG before surgery was 11 my EMG 1 year after surgery is 9.

The Neurologist said you don't wake up one day and have carpal tunnel syndrome. Yet this is exactly what happened to me. I woke up and could not lift my coffee pot to dump the water into.

My hands hurt so bad yet everyone thinks it is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Ive had the surgeries now what?

i had surgery on my right hand 3 weeks ago my index and middle finger feel like their not there really odd feeling
im on worker comp and they really dont have a answer for me keep telling me its ok [[[[[HELP]]]

ooocapn,

Is the numbness different than before your carpal tunnel release (CTR)?

It is not uncommon for patients to have some temporary numbness and tingling, or for the patient's pre-op symptoms of numbness/tingling to persist, after a CTR?

This can be due to a few different reasons. The nerve is manipulated a little during the surgery (more so in an open procedure, than in an endoscopic procedure), and nerves for very finicky. This manipulation can cause a neuropraxia, resulting in temporary numbness/tingling. Swelling from the surgery can put pressure on the nerve. These usually occur right after surgery, and resolve in the following weeks.

If the numbness and tingling develops later, several weeks after the procedure (with an intervening period where the symptoms actually got a lot better), then this can be due to the formation of scar tissue around the nerve. This can be a very difficult problem to treat.


If the numbness/tingling is exactly the same as the pre-op symptoms, and they did not change at all after the surgery, then there is a possibility that the release was not complete. It is possible, even with the open procedure to miss a band of tissue, which continues to compress the nedian nerve.


But, by three weeks, if the release was complete, even if you had some post-op swelling or neuropraxia, it should be resolving. About all you can do it continue to see the surgeon, asking about the numbness and tingling. You may have to have some electrical studies, to see what the status of the nerve is. These are usually not done before around six weeks after the surgery.

Good luck.

I had CTS on my right hand 1 month ago and while I still have some swelling, stiffness and tingling,I can FINALLY sleep through the night without extreme painful numbness.
I was told that it could take up to 3 months to fully recover. For example I can do almost everything now, but in limited quantities. I can't lift heavy things and at the end of the day my hand is sore from working on a computer all day at work, but I'm still glad I had the surgery at this point.
Give it a little time people, the hand is a senstive area and usually takes longer to heal than other parts of the body.
Most importantly pace yourself, allow others to help you (PLEASE). You would hate to injury yourself after going through all that.