I don't know anyone who's had the surgery, but all that I've read about it has been positive so I'd be optimistic if I was having it myself.

Tarsal refers to the foot, so if you wish to do a search about nerve compression in the wrist (cyclops mentioned thumbs), then you will need to search carpal tunnel and not tarsal.

The surgery you mention doesn't sound like Carpal Tunnel release to me; rather, I believe it's what we here call Tendon Transfer.

Tendon transfer surgery has been popular since the middle part of the 20th century, when transfers for multiple peripheral nerve paralyses, including median, ulnar, and radial nerve palsies, became common.

Tendon transfer is used to restore function where spasticity has been caused by any of a multitude of conditions ... including injury, cerebral palsy and stroke, to name a few.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1286712-overview

I even found some youtube videos on the thumb transfer, if you feel up to viewing them, although I admit I've not watched them myself yet.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Good luck with your surgery. Hopefully some-one will be along soon to tell you how good they feel since they had their own operation performed.