I've had tingling in my pinky and ring finger for a few months now and have seen a few doctors about it. Looks like I need to have surgery to attempt to correct or it will get progressively worse and lead to some serious ****. Surgery is an Ulnar Nerve Transposition were they move the nerve in your elbow. Anyone have experience with this? Recovery time? How limited will my arm be during recovery? this sucks
First of all, I am not knowledgeable about this first hand. However, I h ad a friend who was diagnosed with this and had the surgery. Then the same thing started happening with her other hand, so another surgery, then her feet. It turns out it was (the doctors think) caused by a cyst on her spinal column, which was gone by the time they tested for it. She had some residual damage with fine motor function. So, I'd probably get a second opinoin before I had surgery, but her case could have been a really rare one.
while I appreciate your response, thanks for scaring the hell out of me seriously though, I've had the tests done and been to 2 neurologists
unpainted-- I'm assuming you had an EMG and nerve conduction study that shows cubital tunnel syndrome. Make sure you see a hand specialist. These are usually orthopedic surgeons (occasionally plastic surgeons) who do an extra year of training in upper extremity surgery and go through an extra credentialing process. Some neurosurgeons do this surgery as well, but if it were me I'd want an ortho hand. Unfortunately I don't know any hand surgeons in Atx. One of the docs around here--kgp I think--has a hand in his sig. I don't know if he's in town but he may know someone local he can recommend. It might be worth shooting him a PM. As far as the condition, if the EMG does not show actual nerve damage, it may be worth trying a night time extension splint (holds your elbow out straight and has a pad over the "funny bone") and a daytime elbow pad along with high dose advil (4 over the counter pills 3 x per day) for a couple or three weeks. As far as the actual surgery goes, I haven't done any since residency, but as I recall there are basically three ways to do it: 1) Trim a little bit of bone off the medial epicondyle and just let the nerve go where it wants (kind of old school and out of favor but very quick recovery) 2) Move the nerve in front of the medial epicondyle (i.e. transposition) and a) leave it just under the skin -- ie subcutaneous transposition -- easier surgery from technical standpoint and shorter recovery but chance for persistent or recurrent nerve irritation due to the fact that the nerve is so superficial. b) put it under the muscles of the forearm --ie submuscular transposition-- more difficult technically and longer to recover but less chance for persistence/recurrence. One of my old attendings liked the subcutaneous transposition, and his rationale was it was highly successful and easy to recover from, and if it did fail to work or if the irritation recurred, you had a "bailout" or salvage procedure with the submuscular transposition. If you do the submuscular transposition the first time and it fails, there is really not much you can do about it. IIRC you are looking at 3 to 6 weeks in a splint that goes from your upper arm to your hand, and then a supervised exercise program / formal physical therapy to get your strength and motion back. I hope this helps and good luck edit--also you should start taking a buttload of vitamin B12. One of the PM&R docs I know swears by it. Ask a pharmacist about the best dose and formulation
thanks man, that's a ton of helpful info and yes, I had the nerver conduction study a couple weeks ago. I am going to do a little more research and take some of your advice about the hand specialist. again, thanks this apparently is going to suck worse than I thought.
If you're willing to drive to San Antonio, Dr. David Green is a great orthopedic surgeon specializing in hands. He's got to be pretty old now, but I was sent there by the team docs when I needed wrist surgery 10 years ago. Hell I've also driven down to SA for my last leg surgery as well. I figure if I'm an hour drive from one of the better doctors, or at the very least a doctor that comes highly recommended, it's worth my time. Also, the fiancee almost had this surgery after an elbow dislocation but finally decided against it. I don't really know much about it other than it seemed like overkill for her situation, but she was not suffering from numbness or tingling like you are.
I didn't think about SA. Green literally wrote the book on hand surgery. Hes got to be in his 70's by now.
well, my wife and I just got back from a doctor appt in SA so that's definitely not a problem I will talk with my doc about a referral there
I had an Ulnar Nerve Transposition October 30 of last year. It was not that bad, but probably took (is taking) a little longer to heal than I expected. Spent two weeks in a cast from above the elbow through the wrist. Post surgery pain was there, but manageable through the provided meds. I noticed an immediate change coming out of surgery with the numbness fading. However, my doc warned me it could be 6 months to a year getting over the surgery, and he was not lying. I still have some pain and have a long way to go regaining the strength I lost (both from the surgery and the entrapped nerve for years before). I am certainly glad I did it though. This was actually my second surgery to fix it. I first had the Ulnar nerve release, which did help, but did not last.
