finger numbness after carpal tunnel surgery

[Janpi]

I had artheroscopic carpal tunnel surgery on both hands as well as a procedure to fix my DeQuervaine's tendonitis on my left hand. I have an incision in the palm and at the wrist of both hands as well as another on the topside of the left wrist. As I was awakening from anaesthetic, I remember the nurses changing my clothes and saying "Oh there's a haematoma coming up .... Oh no look at this bleeding" and I heard them say they would have to get the doctor back. When I was properly awake, I had a fresh gown on and they gave me my underpants, covered in blood, in a plastic bag and my right hand was bandaged like a football. They said I'd had a bleed in recovery and they had added another bandage on top of the one put on in surgery. My middle three fingers on that hand were numb and tingling but I could feel when I touched them. The doctor came in to see me and said it's fairly easy to nick some of the little blood vessels in the hand and as long as I could feel my fingers everything was ok. He told me to come to his rooms the next day to have the bulky bandage taken off and the hands redressed so I would be more comfortable. The next morning, he put on some small waterproof dressings. My fingers were still numb, with pins and needles but he said that wasn't too uncommon and it would get better progressively.

It is now day four after surgery and I'm doing a fair amount of activity with the strength of my fingers and forearms but I try not to put weight on my wrists or palms which are somewhat tender and I don't have any strength in the wrist yet. I can't take the pain medication "Prodeine" that I was prescribed because it makes me sick and I get stomach cramps so I haven't had any pain medication since day two, but I'm managing ok in that area. My concern is that the middle three fingers are still tingling and numb. I have perfectly normal sensation on the outside of the ring finger (adjacent to the little finger) but the other side adjacent to the middle finger, is completely numb - I can't feel when I touch it or heat or cold. It's almost the same with the middle finger, although this one isn't quite as "dead" ... I have normal sensation in the outside adjacent to the pointer but the inside adjacent to the ring finger is numb but with some feeling i.e. I know when I scratch it. I can feel the tips of all fingers but there is some tingling in all three. My thumb and little finger are fine and my left hand, which I was told would give me a little more pain because of the extra procedure, is excellent.

I'm really hoping that this problem is only because of residual pressure due to swelling or trauma, in part because of the bleeding post operatively, but I feel really anxious that I won't get normal sensations back in my middle fingers. Can you give me any information? I am due to re-visit the doctor in 9 days and we are in the middle of a long weekend so I can't phone his surgery.