I had the bilateral carpal tunnel surgery this passed Friday Sept. 27 2019. I have mixed views. The staff is amazing. Very nice and comforting. Especially Kim. She makes you feel very at ease and comforted which is important because everyone walking in for a procedure is nervous and anxious to some degree. The Dr was knowledgeable and it was obvious that I was in capable hands. The procedure itself was not bad at all. The initial numbing was probably the worst part and even that wasn’t more than as he explained “a lightening strike.” Then you sit while the numbing takes place. I sat about 40 minutes and believe me, I was completely numb. Kim checked on me while waiting. Then the Dr comes in to do the procedure. I felt nothing except a lot of pulling and tugging. I estimate each hand was only about 10 minutes start to finish. The Dr ran through how to care for the wounds and when to expect to go back to work. So i feel up until this point everything was fine and as expected. My mixed feelings are that I was told that I could drive home afterwards. That my hands would be numb but I could still drive if I wanted. NO WAY! Thank god I had someone with me. My hands were so numb that I couldn’t even open my car door. Couldn’t seatbelt myself, couldn’t manage keys or literally do ANYTHING for the next 3 hours. Don’t get me wrong... that is how it should be so you don’t endure any pain during the surgery. My issue is it is no way safe to allow ppl to drive or expect to be able to drive afterwards. I understand that everyone is different and reacts differently to anesthesia but I have a high tolerance to pain and my hands were completely useless afterwards. Next issue, I was told that the next 3 days would be some minor pain and they provided Tylenol, Aleve and pain medication that may or may not need to be used. They insinuated that it would be more of a mildish pain and discomfort for the 1st cpl days. Never once did they say to be sure to have help. I literally couldn’t do anything at all the first 2 days. Couldn’t use the bathroom, open the medicine, get drinks of water, couldn’t hold a phone to even call for help. Maybe that was something that should of been expected on my part, but I feel like they should of made sure to STRESS this. They made it seem like this was a virtually painless procedure and the home care afterwards would be relatively easy. Like I said above, I have a high tolerance to pain and I was completely dependent on my family for 3 days. Now it is day 5 and things are a million times better. I am so glad I did this procedure without a doubt. I have had no carpal tunnel pain or numbness while sleeping since the surgery. So I am more than happy. I just firmly believe that the patients should be fully aware of what to expect. They can not expect to leave the office and drive or be able to do ANYTHING for at least 2 days afterwards. And it needs to be stressed. Without this knowledge, the patient is being set up to fail. I hope this review helps down the road in new patients. With that being said, I think your procedure and staff are great. I would recommend anyone with carpal tunnel symptoms to make an appointment sooner rather than later. Just be very aware of the recovery process. Thanks so much.
