Cubital Tunnel Syndrome

M

Mark Tame

New member
On May 26th, 2010 I had Submuscular Transposition surgery to correct Cubital Tunnel Syndrome. For years, well over ten, I noticed that my ulnar nereve was slipping over my elbow bone and giving me the sensation of hitting the "funny bone." At first it only did so once in a great while and was little bothersome to me. I now have a two year old son who weighs about 30lbs, carrying him and taking him in and out of the crib has made it much worse with more frequent occurences, multiple times per day. The only option I was given was to have Submuscular Transposition surgery. I had a splint on after surgery with an ace bandage, then the day after surgery I went to the doctor and they changed all the bandages. The day after that I was told I could take everything off. I was also told that it was not neccesary to wear the sling unless going in public and worried about people bumping into my arm.

Tomorrow will be one week post op and I am very discouraged as to the recovery progress so far. The surgeon made it seem like it was no big deal and with in two weeks I would be able to return to normal activity, I just don't see that holding true. I will be going in on June 7 to have the stitches removed, then I will at some point begin physical therapy.

I am wondering if anyone can tell me if my experiences post op seem typical? I have numbness on the outside of my palm and in my pinky finger. I am very stiff and weak. I also have red bumps, look like acne, near the incision site. I have a lot of tingling in my arm and hand, this seems to be the most bothersome. I am just worried that I am not moving it enough and will harm the recovery process. How soon should one be moving the arm after surgery? Any help in this area would be appreciated.
 
DRGAP, in reply to your question from another unrelated post (since my thread on this topic has been closed and locked):

My surgery resulted in my left hand being about 97%. I had Ulnar nerve decompression repair and transposition via submuscular on my left *elbow. I have a slight atrophy at base of my thumb. I have ever so slight pins-and-needles, which I really don't notice at all, but I thought I'd mention it. My last two fingers have near 100% and my thumb strength about 90%. It's a zillion times better than pre-op.

I'm right-handed and I play a lot of golf, and I have a single digit handicap. The left hand and thumb (the one I had surgery on) is the hand in golf that needs to be very strong and is the most important, especially the last two fingers and thumb. I have absolutely no problem. I'm pleased with the results...just should have had it done without waiting. The surgery is a piece of cake - I recall hitting golf balls 14 days or so after surgery.

Good luck to you!
 
I myself have not been as fortunate. I had surgery over 4 months ago and things were going great for two months post op and then I started having problems, chronic pain, numbness, tingling. I just had an MRI last week and will get the results on Tuesday, Orthopedic Surgeon thinks the ligaments attaching the muscle may be too tight which is causing the symptoms. We are talking about exploratory surgery to find a solution to correct the chrinic pain I am having. I however do not regret having the surgery, my ulnar nerve was slipping off the bone which has been corrected by the surgery.

I don't think the recovery was as easy as the last poster said it was for him. I was out of work for two weeks and even then when I returned I could only do desk work. It is different for each person, hope this is discouraging for you. And I wish you the best of luck.
 
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