Anyone have carpal tunnel surgery? - F-Body Road Racing and Autocross Forums

The orthopedic surgeon I saw yesterday has sent me for therapy for carpal tunnel before. It's been back again for awhile, this time with a very painful cyst to aggravate the situation. He referred me to see a hand/wrist specialist, and suggested that I might need to have both problems corrected surgically at the same time. In other words, the ligament across the base of the palm would be severed. That isn't the plan yet though, just speculation. I'm hoping that the removing/aspirating/whatever the cyst might take care of it, since it's right next to the carpal tunnel and may be rubbing the nerve too.

Anyway, the orthopedic surgeon, who did a great job on my knee but does not do hands anymore, said all of his past patients have been happy and nobody complained of lack of strength. He said it only reduces hands strength with the hand at an angle that's weak and awkward even without the surgery. OK, I understand that, and everyone I've talked to said the same thing. Nobody thinks they lost any hand strength.

However, I doubt if any of those people actually use their hands for any real work. They've probably never touched a wrench in their lives, and certainly haven't tried to use one in the inevitable awkward spots. At least now I can turn a turn a few bolts, then ice down my wrist and take it up again the next day. Yeah, it took me two weeks to get through a recent job that should have taken an afternoon, but I did get it done. I also live on about 11 acres, with all that entails .... Plus, there's the 54 pound race tires to maneuver onto the studs, and an ever-growing child who feels no pain whatsoever from my wrist (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Am I worrying about nothing? Once that ligament is severed, there's no turning back.

This post has been edited by sgarnett: Oct 25 2007, 03:33 PM

sgarnett View Member Profile	Oct 25 2007, 03:14 PM Post #1
Seeking round tuits Group: Advanced Members Posts: 5,522 Joined: 24-December 03 From: Kentucky Member No.: 33	The orthopedic surgeon I saw yesterday has sent me for therapy for carpal tunnel before. It's been back again for awhile, this time with a very painful cyst to aggravate the situation. He referred me to see a hand/wrist specialist, and suggested that I might need to have both problems corrected surgically at the same time. In other words, the ligament across the base of the palm would be severed. That isn't the plan yet though, just speculation. I'm hoping that the removing/aspirating/whatever the cyst might take care of it, since it's right next to the carpal tunnel and may be rubbing the nerve too. Anyway, the orthopedic surgeon, who did a great job on my knee but does not do hands anymore, said all of his past patients have been happy and nobody complained of lack of strength. He said it only reduces hands strength with the hand at an angle that's weak and awkward even without the surgery. OK, I understand that, and everyone I've talked to said the same thing. Nobody thinks they lost any hand strength. However, I doubt if any of those people actually use their hands for any real work. They've probably never touched a wrench in their lives, and certainly haven't tried to use one in the inevitable awkward spots. At least now I can turn a turn a few bolts, then ice down my wrist and take it up again the next day. Yeah, it took me two weeks to get through a recent job that should have taken an afternoon, but I did get it done. I also live on about 11 acres, with all that entails .... Plus, there's the 54 pound race tires to maneuver onto the studs, and an ever-growing child who feels no pain whatsoever from my wrist (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Am I worrying about nothing? Once that ligament is severed, there's no turning back. This post has been edited by sgarnett: Oct 25 2007, 03:33 PM

trackbird View Member Profile	Oct 25 2007, 08:23 PM Post #2
FRRAX Owner/Admin Group: Admin Posts: 15,432 Joined: 13-February 04 From: Ohio Member No.: 196	I work with a guitar player (sax, keyboards, etc as well) and he's had both hands done. The recovery took a while, but he's back and playing guitar and doing any and everything else he wants to do. The recovery process was painful for him and it took some work to get it dexterity back for guitar playing, but he did get it done. I've been diagnosed with it and I've been putting off fixing it for a while now. And, now with the divorce, I'll probably not have a chance to worry about it for a long time.