Carpal tunnel surgery recovery?

[geekette]

I’m having carpal tunnel release surgery in a couple days, and am wondering about recovery time.

Local anesthesia only, I was told I could drive myself home, and that I’ll have a bandage from mid-hand to a couple inches below my wrist (that can’t get wet) for 3 days. Not much else.

A friend said she couldn’t drive for a week, and I’m seeing info that puts recovery time in the range of months!  Um….

Any experiences?

[Sandi_k]

I think it unlikely that the outpatient clinic will want you driving yourself home. Liability issues around post-anesthesia reactions mean that you're supposed to have someone with you to bring you home.

When my mom had a procedure recently, she wasn't allowed to have something like Uber or Lyft either - something about how if she was experiencing diminished capacity, she could be taken advantage of, so it wasn't allowed.

[former player]

I think you need to ask for better medical instructions on how long you need to rest the hand, what "rest" means and whether there are any exercises you should be doing after resting it.  Your surgeon should be able to give you all of that, preferably with written instructions you can refer to, and possibly a reference to a therapist?

Silly to have the op and then mess up the optimal result with not following aftercare instructions, so good for you for asking, but ask your surgeon too.

[geekette]

I’m sure I’ll get a sheaf of papers on the day of surgery, but I was asking for personal experiences.   I was taken aback when a friend said she couldn’t drive for a week. The surgeon said on my pre-op visit to “let pain be my guide” on what not to do. Maybe she had a worse case, I don’t know.

Since I’m getting local anesthesia only, diminished capacity won’t be a concern. My DH has volunteered to take me, but due to Covid, I’m not sure it’s worth the risk (and the boredom) for the short drive home.

[Metalcat]

I think it unlikely that the outpatient clinic will want you driving yourself home. Liability issues around post-anesthesia reactions mean that you're supposed to have someone with you to bring you home.

When my mom had a procedure recently, she wasn't allowed to have something like Uber or Lyft either - something about how if she was experiencing diminished capacity, she could be taken advantage of, so it wasn't allowed.

There's no post anesthesia reaction with local anesthetic.

I would be more concerned about not having the use of one hand.

[Nate R]

My wife had this done in March. But she did arthroscopic, and thus a different incision situation. But the answer is yes and yes.
My wife had a lot of pain for a few days. She was back to working (full time computer work) after about 3 days off. (surgery Friday, working Tuesday, IIRC). But it has taken months for a nearly full recovery. She was using the hand soon there after, but is only now getting FULL use and strength back. So you'll be back to every day activities soon, but things that are especially hard on the hand/wrist take a while before you can do them full bore.

[Sandi_k]

I think it unlikely that the outpatient clinic will want you driving yourself home. Liability issues around post-anesthesia reactions mean that you're supposed to have someone with you to bring you home.

When my mom had a procedure recently, she wasn't allowed to have something like Uber or Lyft either - something about how if she was experiencing diminished capacity, she could be taken advantage of, so it wasn't allowed.

There's no post anesthesia reaction with local anesthetic.

I would be more concerned about not having the use of one hand.

There are still liability concerns. When I had surgery on my toe with lidocaine, I was not allowed to leave alone or drive myself. Same with my mom with her local procedure.

I raised it because I was surprised by it - they had the policy the same reason the Covid clinics require you to stick around for ~20 minutes post-shot. There can be unanticipated reactions.

So I would ask to be sure.

[Metalcat]

I think it unlikely that the outpatient clinic will want you driving yourself home. Liability issues around post-anesthesia reactions mean that you're supposed to have someone with you to bring you home.

When my mom had a procedure recently, she wasn't allowed to have something like Uber or Lyft either - something about how if she was experiencing diminished capacity, she could be taken advantage of, so it wasn't allowed.

There's no post anesthesia reaction with local anesthetic.

I would be more concerned about not having the use of one hand.

There are still liability concerns. When I had surgery on my toe with lidocaine, I was not allowed to leave alone or drive myself. Same with my mom with her local procedure.

I raised it because I was surprised by it - they had the policy the same reason the Covid clinics require you to stick around for ~20 minutes post-shot. There can be unanticipated reactions.

So I would ask to be sure.

Yeah, I was saying that the hand not being usable would be the liability, same with a foot. It's definitely not the local anesthetic though, because there's no liability for dentists letting patients drive themselves after a filling, or for pain patients after trigger point injections, etc.

[geekette]

I got the call and surgery's scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. I verified that I can drive myself after surgery, but my DH will probably drop me off and either come home (we're close) or go to a nearby coffee shop for the expected three plus hours.

It sounds like recovery is quite variable, so unless DH, who has never shown any interest in cooking, decides to learn, there will be much take out once we run through the freezer stuff.  I had immediate relief for 5 months from a steroid shot, so I hope this will be a more permanent fix.

[Sandi_k]

Sending you good thoughts for a successful result and a quick recovery!

[geekette]

Surgery was quick and interesting, and recovery so far has been astoundingly easy.  I took the recommended pain pills overnight , but the pain never materialized the next day, so that's it.

I took the wrap off today per instructions and replaced it with a bandage.  There's mild bruising where he injected the local, and 4 neat stitches across the vertical crease at the bottom of my palm.  Pushing/pulling might take a while to be pain free, but so far it's been so much better than I feared.