Ulnar nerve surgery????

[irvinbl97]

I have had left elbow pain, weakness in my left hand, and numbness in my pinky and ring finger for over 2 months. I have seen my orthopedic doctor 3 times, and he referred me to another doctor to get an EMG. So far, I have had an x-ray, MRI and an EMG. The second doctor said there is no severe problems, according to the EMG, but there is a problem. I go back to the orthopedic doctor tomorrow to go over the results, and to see what the next step is.
I was just wondering if anyone has ever had this surgery before: were you home the same day? how long/what is the recovery process like? I teach middle school students with multiple disabilties, so I really hate the thought of having to miss a lot of school. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thank you!

[JainMD]

Hi,
You symptoms indeed appear to be due to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
CTS is a neuropathy caused by compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel. 9 long flexors of the wrist and fingers and 1 nerve (median) run within this spatially limited and relatively rigid tunnel.
Thus, any increase in pressure within the tunnel compresses the injury-prone median nerve.
Risk factors include Repetitive hand work, Endocrine imbalance, History of neuropathy, associated conditions, Rheumatoid arthritis and Pregnancy.
Any factor that increases the pressure within the tunnel compresses the median nerve and leads to CTS.
The most common causes include flexor tenosynovitis; trauma to the carpal bones; ganglion, fibroma, or lipoma within the tunnel; rheumatoid cyst; gout; and diabetic neuropathy.
CTS can be diagnosed accurately by careful history and physical examination, inspection for thenar atrophy, and detection of sensory disturbance via light touch or a pinwheel.
I think you should be evaluating first Carpal Tunnel also with orthopaedician, so that before surgery you can plan for intervention for Carpal Tunnel too.
Keep me informed if you have any queries.
Bye.

[LOULOU1972]

I AM HAVING SURGERY MONDAY ON MY LEFT ELBOW ULNAR NERVE, BUT MY MIDDLE FINGER IS MESSED UP AND EVERYTHING I READ SAYS IT EFFECTS THE RING FINGER AND THE PINKY.  WHAT WOULD BE CAUSING PROBLEMS WITH MY MIDDLE FINGER, CARPUT TUNNEL MAYBE? MARY

[sonu78]

Hi,
Your history points towards the involvement of the ulnar nerve. The ulnar nerve is compressed probably at the elbow level/just above the elbow.
Now if it is compression and no intervention is done, then there is a risk of ending up with ulnar nerve palsy which in turn would lead to an claw hand predominantly of the ulnar fingers.
Surgical decompression would be ideal and the recovery time post surgery is roughly about 10 days.

[High Noon]

So no problems with the EMG.
Was the MRI done of the curvical spine ? What were the results of the MRI?
What about the results of the x-rays?

Ulnar nerve Syndrome is really very difficult to diagnose. You might have the symptoms associated with it but not necessarily the cause of your discomfort. You should look at surgery as a last resort.
And only if the docs can give you a  very good certainity that 1) they know what is causing your symptoms and 2) surgery, if recommended, really is going to help.

Good Luck