Musician just having Ulnar Nerve Decompression Surgery
 

Hi to All,

I just had surgery and am a musician who has played piano since 4 and guitar since 12. I'm now 59. As you can guess, I'm pretty bummed at this time.
On September 30, I realized that my pinky was tingling and numb. I sat down to play the guitar, and was in total shock that I could not even form a "G" chord.
Up through August, I was gigging actively and and playing lots of jazz. Pretty demanding stuff. I also teach privately, and honestly didn't realize anything that was going on until no earlier than September 29th. I tell you this, as I've been told by the surgeon, who I do like, and has been very good.

I'm just trying to justify, in my mind, that this was slowly creeping up and came to a head on ~Sept. 29 or Sept. 30.
I just registered on the website today, as I'm coming to grips with reality. I'm just wondering if I should possibly seek another answer, although I may be denial. :confused:

I can see that I have some muscle wasting. I can certainly tell. If this was creeping up, it was a cart coming near a cliff and just rolled off.
My diagnosis is "Severe Ulnar Nerve Neuropathy."

Thanks for all the input. I need it! :D

Hello,
Most likely it was developing all along , and some thing put it over the edge..

How is your upper body posture? head /shoulders forward, hunched or rolled forward? That might be a part of the cause along with the music.

I will suggest you explore our Thoracic outlet syndrome forum (TOS) for short...
May or may not be the cause for you, but we have a lot of additional info and therapies that can be helpful for repetitive use injuries also..
Here is the useful sticky thread to get you started..
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html

You may want to read about double crush & triple crush w/ TOS if you continue to have symptoms or they return in the future..

Hello & Welcome!!
 

:Wave-Hello: Hello and welcome, happy to see you have come to be with us, it a great place to be. We have a great number and caring fellow members here, where you have find a supportive and relaxing place. Have fun looking into the different forums. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Please keep us up to date on your condition. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you. :smileypray:

Darlene :hug:

Hello Art,

Welcome aboard!

I had nerve decompression surgery in my ankle and also had a neuroma repaired there. It's a long story...

The upside is you will heal. It takes time and regular physical therapy but nerve function does improve and muscles will eventually build back up. It is a gradual process bringing strength back to those tiny intrinsic muscles of the hand or foot. You may even have a bit of continued atrophy post-op as swelling is resolving and such. Just keep at it. The large muscle that abducts the big toe had atrophied down to almost nothing on me and though still not as big as the other foot, it is substantially improved and functioning fine.

I hope you heal quickly. Please come let us know how you're doing and take care.

Sending hugs, :hug:

Hi Art!
 

Hi Art,

Oh, wow, yes... a bummer. :(

I apologize for my late response.

I agree with Jo*Mar and with getting at least a second opinion.

I have had this procedure done by a reputable hand surgeon.
I was "diagnosed" via symptoms, an EMG and by the exam done by the surgeon as well. I was told this was a sure thing -- that this was the exact spot which needed a nerve transposition and also told all would be well after surgery. Neither turned out to be true. My condition became much worse and continues to be an ongoing challenge, many years later.

While telling me they did identify the nerve impingement needing repair, the chart notes said otherwise. In other words, after the failure of the surgery, the chart notes said they had not located the correct nerve. I was never told this, however. I had discovered this after ordering notes from my chart.

Also, check on the current success/failure rates of this procedure.

This link gives some good information. Please note, an NCS is better at diagnosing this condition than is a NCV. Please also note, conservative treatment is conducted prior to surgery. This article also mentions success/failure rates, ulnar decompression vs. transposition, and more.

While I believe these procedures can turn out well, it's not always the case. Sometimes, the correct area of impingement isn't identified. Sometimes, the procedure creates complications. This is a serious procedure in which failure presents a problem. This procedure is often presented as a "sure thing." Please take some time to look into this as deeply as possible.

This is a very important decision for you.
I hope you will seek additional advice/opinions prior to authorizing a surgical procedure. Ultimately, surgery may be the answer. Just be sure they have the right location of nerve impingement and utilize the surgical procedure which had the potential for the best outcome (also mentioned in the link).

http://www.cubital-tunnel.com/blog/t...nnel-syndrome/

I hope you will look into this topic. I hope you will also get a second or third opinion.

Warmly,
DejaVu