Your recovery time for carpal tunnel surgery depends on several factors. Some factors are definitely under your control, like pain management and your commitment to physical therapy and rehabilitation. Other factors like your overall health or complications cannot be controlled so easily. Here's what you need to know...

Facing hand surgery to relieve your carpal tunnel syndrome is a big step. You’re probably wondering about many things concerning the operation. 

Personally one of the most frequent questions I get is, "What's recovery time for carpal tunnel surgery like, and how long is it?" 

That's not a simple answer to give because it involves several variables. The factors that play the biggest roles in your recovery effort and length of recovery time are:

• The exact hand surgery "release" procedure you have is a very significant factor. Your recovery time from surgery is much longer after the open release technique compared to the endoscopic release technique.
  
  
• Your  general health adds a variable that is different from person to person. Young healthy individuals heal faster than older or chronically ill patients. 
  

• The job you go back to plays a crucial role, too. If you return to an occupation that requires rapid and forceful hand activities, you will heal slower. Hence, your recovery period will be longer.
  
  
• A great deal of your recovery time depends on whether your dominant hand  hand was operated on. That's because the dominant hand does not rest as much as the non-dominant hand.
  
  
• A patient's commitment to hand therapy can range from non-existent to complete immersion. Those who completely immerse themselves in routing daily therapy and rehabilitation will heal much faster. 
  
  
• If you smoke it will delay your recovery time.
  
  
• The occurrence of any complications can slow your recovery. It depends on the type of complication and how severe it is. Common complications of carpal tunnel surgery are excessive bleeding, reaction to anesthesia, prolonged pain, and infection.
  
  
• Finally, other factors like having a chronic illness (like diabetes), mental health status, and alcohol abuse play a key role in your recovery experience. 
  

Your doctor will give you instructions and a list of pain medications to take when you get home. Be sure to fill the prescriptions before the operation. The instructions should also tell you how to prepare your home. For instance:

• You will need a plastic bag for your hand to bathe or shower. 
  
  
• It's a good idea to have extra pillows to rest your hand. 
  
  
• You may need to pre-prepare meals.
  
  
• Using your hands too much is discouraged. So lifting things after the surgery is out of the question. Doing any kind of lifting or wrist bending can rip the stitches. That will delay healing significantly. So arrange for help lifting a child, your pet, etc. The little things you do in advance will go a long way later on.
  
  
• Patients are not allowed to drive home after the surgery. So make arrangements for a ride. You will also need a ride to your first appointment after the surgery (usually the next day) and about 10-14 days later. That's because you will not be able to grip a steering wheel with any strength. Therefore, arrange for a reliable driver beforehand.

Patients usually have carpal tunnel surgery on an outpatient basis.That means you don’t stay overnight. 

Your doctor will have discussed with you well in advance about which surgical procedure he/she will use. Doctors use either open release surgery or endoscopic release surgery. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.  

So that you don't feel anything during the operation, you will have either local (in the wrist) or general anesthesia . The type of anesthesia you get influences how long after the operation you will be in the recovery room.

The actual operation will take about 30-45 minutes. That assumes no complications occur.

After closing the wound with stitches, the doctor bandages your hand in a straight (“neutral”) position. You will not be able to move your hand or fingers. 

After 1-2 hours the medical staff checks your vital signs. If all is well you're cleared for discharge and you can go home.

Most of the recovery time for carpal tunnel surgery depends on what you do at home. The pain will be greatest in the first 3 days. Use the pain medicines as directed to help. 

Elevate your hand as much as possible to reduce pain. You should sleep slightly upright with your hand elevated on a pillow.

Keeping the bandages dry and clean is very important. Use a plastic bag to cover your hand when showering. Or keep it outside of the bathtub.

Most times the doctor will ask you to come back the next day. The doctor or nurse will change the bandage and check the wound for infection or other problems.

The doctor will also ask you to start moving your fingers gently. This helps prevent stiffness and restrictions.

You will return to the doctor in 10-14 days to remove the stitches. By now the pain is much less but the scar is still tender. There also might be swelling around the scar site. This is normal.

The pain and tenderness will be greater if you had open release surgery. That's because more tissue was disrupted. 

The staff will give you a wrist brace to wear. You must wear it 24/7 for the next month.

You will also be required to gently massage the scar site regularly. Use a lotion to help. The massaging will reduce adhesions and pain. It will also make the scar smaller. Massaging with vitamin E oil will help reduce the scar size.

Patients who had endoscopic surgery may be able to return to work after 2 weeks, but that's extremely optimistic. Usually it's about a month later. However, those who had open release surgery will need more time. 

Call the doctor if you see or feel  anything abnormal like:

• oozing
• infection
• bleeding
• unusual pain

Any of these are a sign that something is wrong. And any one of them can significantly add to the recovery time for carpal tunnel surgery.

Very few patients need pain medicine by 1 month. If anything, Advil or Motrin can help dull any discomfort while you sleep. 

The scar is probably still tender to the touch and swollen. Continued gentle massaging of the scar with lotion helps a lot. The doctor will instruct you to wear the wrist brace only when you sleep. 

Most importantly, you will start a program for hand therapy. It's a rehabilitation program built around hand strengthening exercises. These exercises not only strengthen your hand but also improve dexterity. Eventually (if all goes well) hand strength, coordination, and range of motion will return.

It’s hard to predict when you can return to work. On average, most patients can go back to their job in 2-4 months. 

Recovery time for carpal tunnel surgery and going back to work is most heavily influenced by your job requirements.If the job requires a lot of rapid and forceful hand movements, you have to take it slow and gradual. Otherwise, it could take you a year or more to fully recover.

Health statistics show that 30-60% of people who had carpal tunnel surgery had to switch jobs. That’s because it’s likely the job itself caused the carpal tunnel to start with. 

There will be one or more follow-up visit with the doctor over the next 6 months. That’s to make sure no complications arise. It’s also to assess the progress of your recovery and hand function.

A grim statistic by the National Institutes of Health shows that by 2 years after the surgery, only about 50% of patients are satisfied with their results. These are called "failed surgeries". The reason for failure is because patients either didn't have carpal tunnel syndrome to begin with (a misdiagnosis) or symptoms simply returned. Unfortunately, nobody can predict that outcome with any certainty.