Carpal Tunnel Release
What to expect:
- Swelling
- Amount minimized by keeping hand/wrist above heart level with fingers pointed to sky for 48 hours after surgery
- Range of motion of fingers will also help
- Pain
- Each patient experiences discomfort to a different degree, but should diminish rapidly over 2-3 days
- This can be in the palm and forearm
- Your pain medication prescription will help during this time period
- Contact my office if pain is increasing after surgery
- Bleeding
- Some bleeding at the surgical site is expected
- Some discoloration of your bandages may occur
- Contact my office for an excessive amount of bleeding that becomes continuous
Care of dressing and wound:
- Keep dressing dry and intact until your follow-up appointment
- You may loosen and rewrap dressing for tightness or swelling
What to do after surgery:
- Motion
- You are encouraged to move your fingers, specifically to make a fist and to straighten the digits as far as possible immediately post-operatively
- Also, flex and extend your wrist and rotate your forearm as tolerated
- These exercises and motion activities prevent your median nerve and tendons from becoming bound in scar tissue
- Activity
- You may participate in and perform any activities that you are comfortable with after surgery except for below restriction
- No lifting greater than five ponds with operated hand for one week