Re: cubital tunnel

In Reply to: Re: cubital tunnel posted by kathy on February 25, 2004 at 15:39:57:

: : I am, looking to hear from people who have had the surgery for cubital tunnel.
: : I have been struggling with pain in my hands, wrists, elbows, and neck for over a year now. I have seen several crappy workers comp doctors. I have been diagnosed with having anything from carpal tunnel, RSI, tendonitis, and basic muscle fatigue.
: : I finally saw a great hand and arm surgeon last week. He was very thourough, lots of x-rays, and tests. I do indeed have a very classic case of cubital tunnel.
: : Because I have been going to physical therapy and acupuncture for almost a year now, he feels that surgery is the way to go.
: : The pain is only getting worse these days. Even after being out from work since last June.
: : I am nervous about surgery. I would like to know sucess or failure stories from as many folks as possible.
: : thank you
: : -T
: :

:
: What kind of surgery does he plan to do? Is he going to release the nerve or move it? And how is he going to address the issue of the neck? I had a ulnar nerve release in early Nov. My nerve tests did not show that there was a problem but my finger was starting to claw so he knew something was going on. He did in fact find a very constricted nerve at the elbow area and fixed that. But I still have problems, and I have the numbness and tingling from the elbow down to the wrist on the underside of the arm. I've recently had xrays that support problems at the neck and had an MRI but am waiting on results and a referral to a neck/spine doc.

: I wish you luck with your surgery and hope it resolves the problems for you

: kathy

My doc plans to perform the tranposition as opposed to the epicondylectomy (sp). From what I have been reading the choice of surgery is based on the patients situation and the docs preference.Most of what I have read says that one of htese types of surgeries is not known to be better or worse than the other. Which doesn't really make sense if it is based on the patients body and injury.
However I did come across a couple of articles that suggest differently. I have enclosed the link. This article suggests that the disadvantage of the "release surgery" is that doesn't offer enough support to the elbow.
As for my neck problems...My doc assures me that there is a very good chance that the neck problem will clear up when the ulnar nerve is moved. The ulnar nerve begins in the side of the neck where my neck pain is. The xrays of my neck show that there is a strain on the ulnar nerve. It makes sense that the elbow is the cause of it. I hope that it does fix the neck. Jeesh! I am not sure what is worse, the neck pain or the elbow, or the hands, or the wrists. hahaha
I am sorry to hear that your surgery was not a success. I wish you luck with the next step.

Tammy
http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic479.htm