response to Kitty regarding long term after CTR

In Reply to: Re: upcoming CTR surgery posted by kitty on December 06, 2003 at 18:26:09:

: Oh also, could you share with us your experiences with your other hand? You mentioned you had surgery 8 years ago, do you consider that a success? How has that hand been the past 8 years? We really need some long term feedback on this board regarding surgery.
: Thanks
: Kitty

I had my left hand CTR done in 1995 (open procedure)after about a year of problems. I'd had the nerve test, and it was very bad, I was told. I do not know the test result. I wish I did. I had the ctr done, and was sore for about 3 months. My surgeon had gone under the skin up into the palm and back up the forearm about 3 inches either way, making sure the nerves were okay. I was black and blue from the base of my fingers to about 3 inches up the forearm. I had been in a ton of bandages that didn't come off until the stitches were removed - the usual 10-14 days postop. I had had the wrist basically immobilized by all those bandages for the first 5 days, then I was told I could take them off, and replace them with lighter bandages. I'd been told to wiggle the fingers frequently, but don't even try picking up anything until after the stitches were out. It was 3 weeks before the hand was strong enough to do simple things like pull up my pants. It took another 5 weeks to be near "normal". I had begun to notice some difficulty with the scar line causing some discomfort when I'd press my palm to a hard surface, when I'd gotten full hand strength totally back, which was around 10-12 weeks, if I recall correctly. I found that massaging the base of the hand seemed to help lessen the adhesions of the scar tissue, over time. To be honest, it took about 1-1/2 years for the area where the scar is to lose that sensitivity to pressure. (note that I didn't push that aspect very hard as it was not a particularly inconveniencing problem for me) Over time, the scar line has faded to the point where it is rather faint, and is barely noticeable on casual observation. If you really examine it closely, you can see the scar and stitch marks, but they have faded to a line and some dots over the years. I can say that by stretching and flexing as much as you can tolerate early on seems to help keep the tissues in the area from "drawing" in and being tight as full healing occurs in the first couple months after the stitches come out and the skin is completely closed. Pardon me if my comments kind of ramble back and forth, but I'm trying to recall as much detail as I can. I do feel that the completeness in which the surgeon checks the condition of the structures may affect the outcome. I recall then that my surgeon had told me that he'd needed to go under the skin like he did because of the extent of the problem. Since my recent resarch has shown me that some people can get scar tissue around the nerve due to the compression on it, I can better understand what he told me, in retrospect. I would say that the procedure, and the thoroughness in which it was done, made it a complete success. I have had no problems with numbness or pain in the hand in the 8 years since it was done. The scar is about 1-1/4 in long or about 50 cm. It follows the vertical creases in the palm that go from heel of the hand toward the fingertips. It starts just about where the horizontal creases run across the inside of the wrist at the heel of the hand. The only negative thing that I recall about the whole thing was that the 8th stitch, closest to the middle of my palm, was a bit tight, and was a bit "buried" in the skin, I judged it too tight, so I cut that one stitch after about 7 days. I'd told them what I did when I went to have the rest of them out, and they said I didn't hurt anything. Heck, I took that one stitch out because I didn't want them to have to "dig" to get it to where they could cut it, so i beat them to it.

Well, I hope this helps some. Just remember, that drs instructions and procedures evolve with time. I am only relating what I dealt with. If I can answer any questions I will try.
Donna