One of the most popular entries on my blog is my initial post about having Ulnar nerve Transposition surgery (graphic pics) in March 2008. I’ve blogged a few times since then with status updates and I thought would give another update really quick, being 9 months later.
The numbness on the elbow itself is going away, its now sensitive to touch and very tender (I’ll take this over numbness any day). If I bump my elbow directly on a door or desk its still very painful and I shriek every time. The scar from the incision is about 6 inches, perhaps 7 inches in length its wide and still very tender and red, a large lump presumably scar tissue and a strange indent are located around the scar. Also, the area around the scar appears to be bruised, the skin is darker in tone.
The tingling and numbness in the pinky and ring finger are bout 50% of what they were before the surgery which is fine as I’m learning to deal with it. The Doctor said it’ll probably take 2-3 years for the nerve to repair itself since it was compressed so bad.
Before the surgery my arm would ache almost all the time, it was a “tired dull pain” that lingered. However, the surgery seemed to resolve that and I only have the “tired dull pain” when I over use my arm now.
I am glad I had the surgery, its been a long road and the situation is at least 40-50% better then what it was before surgery. I go back to the doctor in February 2009 for a checkup and I’ll follow up here as well with the results.
Tags: nerve, surgery, transposition, ulnar
I just had the ulnar nerve transposition surgery (as well as carpal tunnel) on my right arm and wrist, Ocober 14. I believe it was the subcutaneous transposition. Later that night and the next morning, my elbow/arm/hand already felt better, with no pain, tingling, or numbness. Have actually felt little to no need to take any pain pills.
It’s been nice to be able to enjoy a solid night’s sleep. Every night before the procedure, I would wake up with my hand and arm asleep or tingling, most times, more than once.
They have my arm wrapped from almost my shoulder and splinted. My next appointment is October 28th. I assume the bandages and splint will be removed then. Think they told me that I’d have little use of the arm for 6 weeks. Not sure if therapy will begin after me next appointment or a little farther out.
I should add too that I don’t have any helpers in my life, that it is easy to take care of myself, or any needs that come up. Even still walk my dog, 4.25 miles in just under an hour, so this hasn’t slowed me down any.
Because of all the doom and gloom stories, I wanted to share my story and I’ll try to update my story as it progresses
I am going to an Orthopedic Surgeon for what my doctor describes as a bone spur in my left elbow that is digging into the Ulnal Nerve. I am just wondering what your symptoms were. I am experiencing numbness in my left hand and pain that comes from my shoulder into my hand, I have more numbness on the bottom of my hand on the side edge and also I have been losing more use of it as far as grabbing things and picking them up (weakness). My typing skills have dimminished greatly and sometimes can’t even feel the keys. Along with this the longer my arm is bent (driving, cell phone use) I begin to feel intense pain when I straighten my arm and have almost no use of it to pick something up. In the morning when I wake up I can’t even pull socks or my pants on because it is either too painful or I lack the power to grip and pull. Were your symptoms similar to this ? I am very curious. Thanks Fred.
Thank you for that post
I will have the surgery this friday 10/23/09
I am very worried as I have heard good and very bad thinks regrding this surgery
I will have it done by the Orhtopedic Center of the Rockies and hear they aer very good.I think they will do the under the muscle one sub-somthing
I use a computer everyday all day for my work and am concerned that I may not be abe to return to the job as soon as I like
the doc said he will remove the splint aftr only 3 days and I can return to work when I feel like it
I am worried about the pan and recovery times
Dang
Dang,
how are you doing?
Hi everyone,
I had a question regarding the ulnar nerve surgery. I was diagnosed with the same problem about 10 years ago. I received my injury from playing softball for years. I too had numbness in my pinky finger and my ringer finger which migrated up to my wrist. I was placed in a brace for about three months and was given IB800′s to help with the inflamation. I am now 26 years old and am wondering if the surgery now would benefit me later in life. I work at a computer all day long and my elbow constantly is bent. I have to straighten it out several times a day to relieve the ach in my elboy and fingers. I also have changed my lifestyle to avoid repetative motion with my right arm and have issues carrying more than 15-20 lbs with my right hand. Basically a sac of potato’s is a killer. Do you think revisitng the possibility of the surgery is a good thing to consider?
Susan,
I had the surgery 5 moths ago, both wrist and elbow., and had RSD complications. I still have numbness and pain. Takes a long time to heal.
I’m having this surgery on friday 1/15/2010. I’m wanting to be encouraged that this will solve the problem i’m having as well with the numbness (little and ring fingers). I was injured running away from a dog. My shoulder was also severely injured and that surgery was a year ago followed by elbow surgery in may of last year. Good luck in your recovery. I’m not looking forward to the pain. especially if anything like the pain from the shoulder surgery.
Good Luck!!!
I had this surgery 4 1/2 weeks ago.They moved the nerve under some muscle in my forearm.Before surgery,the numbness in my pinkie finger and that side of my hand would vary from hardly at all,to bad enough that I was conscious of it all day. After surgery the numbness is worse than before.The surgeon says it should get better,but it seems like it shouldn’t be worse than it was.Anyone else experience anything such as this?
i had this surgery 6 months ago and my pain and numbness have gotting worse im now seeing another doctor and most likely having another surgery this makes no#4 seems like i might be limited in arm 4 life
Joe,
I had the surgery 5 months ago, and I have developed pain in upper arm, and limited rom. Still have numbness in little finger and pain in arm all day every day. o more therapy, I had it for 4 1/2 months.Hope you are doing better.
hey joe i am in the same boat. i have had 3 all ready about to have my 4. i am trying to pick a new doctor now.
After enduring a rather awful EMG the other day, I was told by that consultant that the damage at my elbow (a couple inches above the elbow) was severe with nerve death occurring. That was bad enough, but then was told I also had nerve compression at my wrist at “bad” stage and to top it off minor carpal tunnel. He said he expected surgeon would do at least the elbow and ulnar at wrist with possibility of the carpal at the same time. What a combo! He said even a wait of a couple weeks will mean more nerve death. This whole thing only started 6 wks ago and I already have hardly any hand muscle or tone left. Pinky and next finger have been constant pain numbness combo since then.
I go back to the hand surgeon tomorrow to discuss those results. Ive already been told to expect surgery in a week, with him predicting the one that moves the nerve up into your arm muscle. I thought that was worst case scenarioonly to find out there was much more!
I am totally freaked out by what I will be told they are going to do and the process Im going to go through. I look at my awful looking hand and know this is the best its going to look in a long time / ever! I have found plenty of info on the wrist surgery and elbow… I find NOTHING about a combo surgery. Oh yes, and apparently I have it at “minor stage” on my right hand also!
Any words of advice for me going in to this?
Annette,
I had the ulnar nerve surgery at both the elbow and wrist done subcutaneously 5 months ago. I developed RSD after the surgery. I am in remission with the RSD, but developed frozen shoulder syndrome. I still have numbness in the little finger and my fingers still are stiff when I get up in the morning. My elbow and wrist healed nicely, but I now have this other complication. You might want to check on complications on combo surgeries. Better to get all done at once, my system just reacted to it and caused the RSD complcation, that was worse than the surgery itself. It also is not cureable and I should refrain from other surgeries, but this is something they do not know until it happens. I have a super sensitive system. Hopefully you have a good surgeon. I did and am graeful for that, could have been a lot worse otherwise. Good luck.
i had frozen shoulder and ulnar nerve damage by the elbow. Had my combination surgery in June 2006. He had to how he said it **shave a bit off the collar bone and moved the ulnar nerve a bit, before the surgery he thought he was going to move it to the front of the elbow, but when he looked he seen he would only have to move it a bit away to relieve the pain. I fell and damaged both my shoulder and elbow (basically just thought I bruised it) but noticed the **constant** pain like 6 months later. I had the typical EMG exam (am very happy that I had a neurologist that studied this over a year and was very good at it..only had 2 spots where she did it that i some pain but not as bad as some have explained it to me. After the surgery, it was a bit painful, as any surgery would be. The hard part for me was the physical therapy. It was painful, but I have to say, it helped me to recover at a good rate i was told.
I did start having more pain the last 2 months again, a bit in the shoulder (not as bad as it was before) and the pain by the elbow is so bothersome now. The tingling, numbness, and burning going down from the elbow to the inner arm to the pinky and ring finger. Question I have has anyone else experienced this, where they had the surgery and then a cpl yrs later had it back? After my first surgery the pain and tingling went away about 5 months after the surgery. The numbness was still there, but didnt seem to bother me at all. Was used to it and just went on without needing to complain anytime about it. Has anyone else experienced this? Just curious and if so what was done, if you dont mind sharing.
JC,
I had the subcutaneous surgery in June 2009 in addition I had the decompression done in the wrist. Ended up with RSD, which is now in remission. I still have issues. Some days good other days not so good. Tightness in the pinkie and side of the palm, and still get pain in both pinkie and ring finger and sometomes tingling. Sometimes the elbow hurts and forearm. I also do not have full ROM of the arm, and upper arm really hurts at times, especially when I sleep on it. I think it takes a long time to heal and I have heard of recurrences.
I just had Ulnar Nerve Tranposition surgery on my right elbow on 01/19/2010. So far I have been very pleased with the results. I was concerned about the surgery after reading the experiences of others. I am regaining my ROM, but still have trouble straightening my arm. I had the staples and bandage removed on 1/26/2010. Numbness and tingling sensations are gone so far (doc said they may come and go for awhile). I have been very pleased with the return of better finger coordination. Both typing and writing seem to be easier. I will say that I initially went to a soft tissue doc who did nerve conduction tests, said the nerve was not damaged yet, they couldn’t do anything to help me as far as physical therapy or meds. The instructed me to return in three months to see if the nerve was damaged. I took it upon myself to go to an orthopedic surgeon, he said surgery was the best route. Even though the nerve was not damaged did not mean that it was not compressed. My fear was nerve damage and muscle wasting. My symptoms had gone on for over a year. The surgery itself was not bad. Little to no pain. Biggest pain was washing long hair with one arm LOL! Hope others have a good experience with this surgery as I have!
Did you have the subqutaneous one done and where did you have your surgery done? Sounds you are a lucky person.
Hi all, I am due for Ulna nerve surgery and carpel tunnel maybe, as My whole hand has decided to play up…I wake up all the time in pain….the never ending ache..not sharp pain, just annoying aching…with pins and needles and often now….swelling in my hand……
The surgeon suggests ulna op, and they want to look at the medium nerve also.
I ride a motorbike, and at times find it dangerous to ride when my pinky and ring finger are too numb to really have decent control of the front brake.
However, I’ve heard so many horrible stories after surgery, that I’m now wandering if I shouldn’t put up with it for a wee bit longer, incase the bloody thing gets much worse after being attached by the surgeons…and recovery time is so long also that I won’t be able to get on my bike.
Has any of you heard about an alternative to the knife!
Fiona
)
Fiona,
you can try therapy, but other than that I do not know of any other methods. Good luck to you.
Dutch
I read all these posts and I am now more scared of this surgery. I am having the more invasive one, transpostion.
I am wondering what is RSD is, now I am more freaked out. How long is the most to be away from work and what kind of pain med’s work best?
Oh srry, I am having mine done March 03,2010. Any advise? Were all of you doing better without pain med’s or while on them? I have taken vicodin with nerve med for almost a year and the vicodin I am now immune to so he give me stronger one. Any insites???
Hi all,
I’m about to undergo my second subq in 2 years. The previous one left my ulnar nerve subluxing with numbness and tingling, although an EC test showed the nerve is working properly. My op is planned for July this year.
Regards
Kai-Lin
kai-lin,
good luck and keep us posted.
I was hurt in 2002 while I worked at Mayo. In 2004, the “best” arm surgeon in the Twin Cities did a radial nerve decompression. since I have had the same symptoms in my hand/arm with cramping, weakness, etc. Finally, I found the actual “best” hand/arm surgeon. He found in 2007 that I had numbness in my pinkie and ring finger, which I had never noticed before and was never tested for by the previous surgeon. The end of 2009, he decided that the last ditch effort to help with the cramping, weakness, and numbness is to try the ulnar nerve transposition. I am a bit reserved after reading a lot of the above, however, he has explained to me that this is a riskier surgery, but things really can’t get much worse because I already have muscle atrophy from the first surgery. I am going to stay possitive. BTW, it took my workers comp 5 months to approve this surgery ~ only after my lawyer wrote a letter to the State of Minnesota Courts to review and force them to approve….
Good luck on your surgery.
Hi, i’m having the ulnar nerve transposition op on Monday 19/04/2010 under general aneasthetic, already had carpal tunnel op to right hand and this showed I had a second prob wi the ulnar nerve. Can anyone tell me what your experience was like having the op under a general anaesthetic and how long you were in theatre. I’ve had loads of ops under a general but for some reason this one is scaring me to death. Whats the recovery like afterwards
Hi all, I’m having the sub trans and carpal tunnel release on the left side on May 12, 2010. Anyone having had both of these done at the same time – how long before you returned to work? I live ~35 miles from work and drive a stick, public transportation and/or carpools are not an option. Once at work, I could hunt-and-peck with my right hand until I regain use of the left side. What kind of pain levels are we talking – vicodin has done little for me in the past.
Hi Clyde,
I had mine done at the same time and was unable to do much for a long time. In addition I developed RSD, so I was out of work for more than 4 moths, and consequently got fired.
Everyone heals different, but I am sure with the stick shift it will take a few weeks depending on your healing. I was able to drive after a few weeks but I had my right arm done and am right handed. Best to check with your surgeon on this one.
Thanks. It’s been about 10 hours since the procedures. While the arm is quite painful, my throat is more of a problem from the anesthesia procedure (breathing tube) than my arm is. Any pressure whatsoever on my fingers sends the pain through the roof, moving them hurts like hell too – but at least they move. As expected, the Vicodin does essentially nothing. I look silly doing it, but resting my arm on top of my head while standing or sitting is much less painful than using the sling. Getting ready to take my next dose of Vicodin and prophylactic anti-biotic and go to bed – needless to say, the anxiety of the surgery didn’t let me sleep well last night, hopefully the Vicodin will take the edge off the pain enough to let me sleep. First post-op follow-up visit on Friday. Will post update then.
So, as expected, the Vicodin did nothing and I think a got a total of about 20 minutes of sleep Wednesday night. Luckily, the pain subsided around 4 Thursday afternoon and I got a decent amount of sleep (although still behind from what I lost on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Follow-up appointment this morning, changed dressings and removed the three drainage tubes – my wrist was still oozing – - surprisingly, my elbow looks and feels much better than I thought it would. Staples used to close the elbow wound and stitches used for the wrist. Physical therapist made and fitted a new splint, and provided my with an array of exercises for my wrist and elbow to start immediately – unfortunately, I listened to her and on the second set my wrist incision started to bleed – - I’ve decided to not do any more of the wrist exercises for now. The arm is swelling now, hopefully it reaches it’s peak soon. Sore throat is nearly gone, that has been the worst part of the whole experience so far. I can touch my thumb to all fingers except the pinky and can hold light objects between my thumb and fingers.
Sutures removed this morning. No problems with the staples at the elbow, which feels just fine – maybe just a little stiff. There has been some minor bleeding from my palm where the CTS incision was made. The transposition, so far, has provided little to no relief of the symptoms in the two small fingers. I still have a small amount of swelling in both the elbow and hand but that should be gone in a couple of more days. I’m slowly gaining more functionality with the hand, but still can’t quite touch the pinky with my thumb.
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Hi Everyone,
I had a submuscular unlner nerve transposition done in 2007 after spending nearly a year getting properly diagnoced. After the surgery I had less pain and tingling but not for long. About 6 months after surgery the scar tissue began to pinch the nerve off again. I had to go back in for a second surgery to try to clean up the area and remove the scar tissue. The surgery was scheduled for 2 hours. I was in the OR for 5 hours. Now here it is another year later and I am in more pain now, have less use of my hand and basically no use of my 2 fingers. I am on a large quantity of pain meds along with 3600 mg of Neurontin and just met with another surgeon yesterday. They have scheduled me for another, my 4th, EMG. Depending on the results, if the nerve is pinched closer to the wrist, they can do another surgery. However, if the nerve is pinched in the elbow, which I am quite certain it is, there is nothing they can do, other than sever the nerve.
Has anyone allowed an ulner nerve to be severed? I am told that it will take away the pain. However, it will also take away my two fingers, along with the atrophy of my forearm. Does anyone have and advice? I am not ready to lose the arm and am scared to death.
Tim,
I wish I could be of assistance. Sounds very frustrating. Please keep me informed of your progress, and best of luck.
I was very glad to find this blog!! About a week and a half ago I had wrist pain (which is common if I do something silly) but then I started having tingling in my fingers. After completely freaking out, I ended up in Urgent Care to learn that it was “probably” ulnar nerve entrapment (by this point, I was feeling some pain in the elbow as well. I was put on prednisone and feeling better: but now the other arm is feeling funny: some numbness in fingers but a general “tired” feeling. My husband is frustrated because I am so worried. I have an appointment with an ortho Tuesday.
My main concern is that I don’t know how much pain is too much or how much is manageable (Meaning, it’s getting better, but takes time). The pain seems to come and go.
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