LRTI surgery recovery sharing

Wow you are the post I can relate to. I am at 9 weeks post op. Out of all splints. My hand is progressing but still have discomfort and pain everyday. Will start off ok then pain sets in around early afternoon. I too have these bumps in the palm of my hand with the ones nearest my wrist being tender. I developed a hard bump on the inside base part of my thumb which makes it hard to grip with my entire hand, which is still hard to do anyway. My progress is slow. I am gaining strength and some flexibility with it still being hard to touch thumb to pinkie. I am most concerned about the sore bumps. Haven’t had the Dr check this out yet. I read about that disease and am worried that’s what it is. My skin is still hypersensitive which I understand takes a while to go away. Some days I just feel like staying on the couch. Other days I feel much better but hard to string more than w good days together. I’m relieved to hear I’m not the only one still experiencing discomfort and lack of hand use at 2 months. It’s hard to do the hand exercises at home because my hand is always painful after going to OT. if there is anyone lose out there experiencing these difficulties please post. Good luck Sueffun!

Hi, all. Have been reading all your comments. Am scheduled for LRTI arthriplasty on right thumb tomorrow. Both thumbs need the procedure but am doing right first, since I’m left handed. Am really hoping my procedure goes smoothly and the pain is manageable. Will try to post updates along the way as I am able. Thanks for thinking of me tomorrow and in the days and weeks to come. Nice to have a forum of people who understand!!

Liz

Day two - 36 hrs out. I had a nerve block so I was super fine until about 2 AM. Had taken pain meds before bed but was unable to sleep because I had to leave the contraption on so my arm wouldn’t flop around. The pain hit big time over night. Finally moved tocouch so I wouldn’t wake my husband and slept maybe 1.5 hrs. Still trying to work through the pain - been taking them every 4 hrs. Sure hope it eases off soon. Have found elevation and ice do best so far More in next few days. Go on the 2nd of October for hard cast argh

Liz, do you have a new update? I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow and quite anxious about the whole recovery after reading some posts here - how are you doing now?

Had an opportunity to read through the pages of threads and found them to be as diverse as people are. Here are some of my thoughts 8 weeks post LRTI on right dominant hand.
Expect pain when the block wears off. Be a good patient and follow doctor advice and take pain meds before the block wears off.
Expect discomfort when they remove the stitches 10 days later.
Expect to learn how to become one handed. Have help in the beginning because putting clothes on is quite difficult with one hand. Bras are especially tricky getting off and on. Elastic waist pants are your new best friend. Clogs were my shoe of choice since there was no tying of laces. Make sure you have at least one jacket that will fit over your cast.
Eating with one hand is not easy. When your non-dominant hand is now the boss and your right hand is useless you learn how to improvise. Don't be afraid to ask some one to cut your meat and open jars or cans. It is almost a physical impossibility.
Plan ahead. Buy a shower sleeve so when your surgery cast is removed you can independently take a shower. Buy shampoo and shower soap with a large pump so it is easier to get out one handed.
Invest in an electronic soap dispenser to make it easier to wash your hand.
I found a waterpik and electric toothbrush easy to use with my left hand.
If you get a fiberglass splint after your surgical splint is removed, be sure that it does not impede the movement of your fingers. (I learned that one the hard way)
If you can tolerate ibuprofen, it helps with the swelling and post therapy discomfort.
I also use frankincense and lavender in a carrier oil of almond oil for massaging. It helps with swelling and inflammation.
As I wonder how long it will take for my hand to go back to normal, I have to remind myself it took me 8 weeks to get this way; I'll see where I am in 8 weeks. But, I sure am anxious

Hi All,

Thanks so much for keeping this thread active! Your stories are super helpful to read. Here's mine...
51 YO, female with thumb CMC OA due to chronic overuse - I'm a cake decorator and it's tough on the hands. LRTI non-dom (L) hand done 5 days ago and I'm doing really well. I've been aggressively elevating and my fingers are barely swollen. Off narcotics after Day 3.

I sought out info that led me to this forum after I was nearly floored with pain in my forearm yesterday (Day 4). It happened after grasping at something I was holding as it started to slip. I swear I saw stars, took my breath away, took hours for sharp pain to go away. Presumably I irritated the area where the borrowed ligament was harvested from. I felt horrible shooting pain from the inner arm to the tips of my fingers, especially the 3rd and 4th fingers. While most of the pain is gone, it still hurts if I move the wrong way, and makes my entire hand and arm ache. I'd been nearly pain-free that day, until that incident!

While I'm relieved that the pain is greatly lessened now and it doesn't seem like I've busted up anything, I wish I'd been warned of the possibility, and told what types of movements might aggravate that poor ligament. The muscles used are the ones you'd use if you were hugging a pillow to your chest with your bad arm. Trust my word, don't try this at home, friends!

Hope this helps. I'd be really interested to hear the follow-ups from those who posted right after surgery. As we all know, this is a journey, and I'm hoping to be inspired by success stories after half a year, or a year, or more. Anyone?

Thanks!
Deb

Hi Rose,
Sorry to hear you're in so much pain! I'm getting the most relief from a topical Voltaren ointment - I'm unable to take NSAIDs by mouth, and this avoids the GI tract. I'm impatient to be back to full strength, but when I overdo it, my arm rebels, so I'm learning to moderate. My wrist was super stiff but it's slowly loosening up (I've been out of the splint for a few days now).
Keep doing your stretching and strengthening, and it's bound to improve. Good luck!
Deb

Hi there Dadcubed! Your journey sounds similar to mine. Another three weeks along for me, for a total of 80 days post-surgery now. For the past month I've been struggling with thumb pain, interestingly it's more in the two distal joints, not the CMC joint. Wrist pain too. I overdid it (I decorate cakes and did a whopper that took me 15 hours of hands-on work) just after I was told I didn't have to wear the splint anymore. Anyway, the pain's been bad, so OT put me back into the soft velcro splint to try to rest it and recover. I'm finally nearly back where i was before I made that oh-so-bad decision to make a cake that looked like a dragon hatching out of an egg for a GOT fan's baby shower ;). I can reach my pinky with a small amount of pain, and hoping to get back to strengthening exercises within the next week or so.

There's a lesson in there somewhere.

Six-week post-op right dominant LRTI update: I am progressing nicely with my PT. I can pretty easily touch my thumb to half way down my pinky and I'm gaining more and more mobility, with less and less pain. Next week I get to lose the splint for parts of each day, including at night when I sleep - woohoo! I still have a fair amount of numbness from the incision up the inside/top of my thumb. Incision is itchy. Last week I scheduled my left, non-dominant thumb for LRTI in early December (before my high deductible resets). FYI, I have been religious and even slightly aggressive with my home LRTI exercises, and I can't help but think that it has been instrumental in what I view as a very successful recovery so far (he says as he knocks on wood). Cheers.

Well now I'm two years post surgery and my hand is terrible, I wish I had never had it done.
I can't push up from my hand as it really hurts my wrist, my fingers don't bend back as much as the Left hand and my wrist crunches like crazy and still my thumb doesn't open very wide at all
When I use my index finger on the Track pad on my lap top my wrist near the base of my thumb crunches all the time and I have to stop working as it gets so painful.
I've had 4 cortisone injections, not one had worked.
My own diagnosis is dequervains tendinitis but my ortho won't operate again. I guess too much scar tissue around.
I was supposed to have the left thumb done but there is not a chance I'll be doing that

SHB post. Post surgery recovery from LRTI surgery on right dominant hand.

Before I decided to have LRTI surgery I had researched and interviewed two different ortho surgeons. Both explained the surgery to me but neither explained how long and difficult recovery would be. I have read all of the previous entries on this site and have a question that I have not seen addressed yet. Just a little background information here surgery was October 12, 2022. Three days after surgery original cast was so tight that it had cut off circulation to my hand and an ER visit later removed it and re-positioned it with less padding. On the fifth day post surgery I was taken out of the heavy cast and put into a spica splint which pressed directly over the sutures on the thumb and was quite painful. At three week mark the original splint was replaced by another one that was designed to be worn past the area of sutures to make it more bearable. The initial OT was pushing me to touch my pinky at the three week mark and put small pegs into a board which was impossible to achieve. After switching OT’s the new OT indicated I should not even be attempting PT until the six week and not at the aggressive level the first OT was doing. At six weeks I was moved to a shorter wrist splint which was somewhat better but the area of the hand was still very uncomfortable and especially painful after mid afternoon till bedtime
with requiring 3 to 4 hours a day of icing and or heat. I was also doing PT exercises at home four times daily. 10 weeks post surgery the ortho looked at the hand and said my stitches which were supposed to be dissolvable were not dissolving and impeding healing and contributing to the pain. He started me on a dose pack of methyl prednisone and gabapentin. Currently at 79 days post surgery The gabapentin is starting to give me some pain relief. My questions are thus: has anyone else experienced a similar problem with sutures that did not heal as expected? Also, since the surgery my entire hand now gets extremely stiff and sore which was never the case prior to surgery. It’s almost as if the surgery stirred up arthritis in the remainder of the hand. My doctor now states it will be a one year recovery. I’m trying to remain hopeful but being in pain every day for three months really wears a person down.

Post Edited (SHB) : 12/31/2022 11:33:17 AM (GMT-8)