June 16th 2017 I had my carpal tunnel release surgery. This was done with local anesthetic only, which was fine.
The tugging was disturbing for sure, but really I couldn’t feel anything at all that was actually going on. Hearing them talking about the insides of my hand was… icky.
I only knew they had stitched me up because the doctor was talking to the intern about technique. And then… lots of thick bandages all taped down. Pixie gave me kisses when I got home. My fingers were very frozen and uncomfortable, but not painful.
Today I got the bandage off (yay!) and stitches out. I was surprised at what it looked like, because the surgery was supposed to be two small incisions but the stitches were holding a wound about two inches long at the base of my palm. No wonder it’s been so sore!
Looks like about 7 stitches, I think it was. They kept catching in the bandages, which bothered me a lot when I moved my hand in a rotating manner. So glad they’re gone.
And here’s what it looks like after the stitches came out. I’m supposed to keep it covered with big patch Band Aids until it’s fully closed. I felt the clipping but not the pulling out because the area has lingering numbness. I guess that’s not so bad.
I met with the physio therapist to get some exercises to help my healing and control, though the doctor said my range of motion is good. There are more I have to do to help the inflammation and scarring after the wound is closed.
The base of my thumb is feeling constantly numb-ish and tired, as if I’ve been using it a lot when I haven’t been. So, I’m allowed to only be using my hand in small batches over the day. Typing and mousing are okay, but I’m not satisfied yet with my control with a pen. I will have to work on that!