I am happily patient number 1,946 of an new and ultra-minimally invasive way to do carpal tunnel release surgery. I am four days out from having carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand and eleven days out from having carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand and I was able to successfully type this post. But as usual I have gotten way ahead of myself.
I have been suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome for 18 years now. I have done four EMG studies, all proving that I do in fact have carpal tunnel syndrome it just had not been bad enough to require surgery. Over the years I have received treatment from three occupational therapists and one physical therapist. I have had a number of splints, both day and night versions. One of my most recent occupational therapists has been working on my carpal tunnel for four years now and he finally said “I think this may just be your anatomy and there is not much more I can do.” Now this is a therapist who never gives up nor is the biggest fan of surgery so when he waves the white flag and surrenders to surgery I knew it was time.
For those of you who do not know how the Traditional Open Release surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome works let me walk you through it. In an operation room a surgeon cuts open the hand and wrist to view and cut through the carpal ligament. This often results in the patient needing to be sedated, up to a two month long recovery time as well as a higher risk of nerve damage.
At Ovation Hand Institute, Dr. Harrison pioneered a revolutionary solution to carpal tunnel syndrome. By utilizing ultrasound technology to guide a piece of thread to cut the carpal ligament. The thread is routed in the hand using a needle with only two small punctures as the entry and exit points. Then the thread is looped around the ligament and gently makes the cut known as The Ovation Technique. It is the very same occupational therapist who introduced me to this innovated approach to carpal tunnel surgery after observing the surgery in person.
No incisions. No need to be sedated. Minimally invasive. Shorter recovery time. Low risk of nerve damage. Literally not even one stitch. All magic to my, well hands.
As most of you know I take surgery very seriously seeing there are higher risks with having EDS and dysautonomia. Being under anesthesia can result in death and if we survive then often times we rarely heal well. Yes death. I have been in a pre-operation appointment when my vascular surgeon came in cancelling my surgery telling me “you could die on my table”. So while we all take surgery seriously, I take it exceptionally seriously. After my fourth EMG the very same vascular surgeon said it was time to do the carpal tunnel surgery and referred me to hand surgeons who specialize in the traditional approach.
So imagine my delight when my occupational therapist told me all about Ovation Hand Institute after he spent the morning watching their brilliant “why hasn’t anyone else come up with this before” treatment option. I told my OT if it weren’t for Covid I would hug him for recommending this treatment option to me!
My dear readers I must confess I have a lot more going on with symptoms in my hands than just carpal tunnel syndrome. I also have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Thoracic Inlet Syndrome, stenosis, bulging disc and arthritis in my C-spine and chronic swelling all causing various symptoms in my hands. In the medical sense I have Double-Crush Syndrome which means I have two or more conditions causing the same symptoms. I went into this surgery knowing it may only help somewhat with my symptoms, but some relief was better than no relief at all.
My hands have literally brought me to knees. I have cried over the pain in my hands. The burning, oh my gosh the burning is so intense the first few times I ran them under cold water, but it never does any good. Unfortunately the burning is coming from within. The numbness makes it tough to hold objects or use them at all. When there is weakness I drop things. Even times where I could barely hold a pen. The tingling can often be constant, shaking them out as if I was doing some kind of dance number. The swelling at one point being so bad I could not close them. About four years ago my hands were rendered useless as I could not type, cook, write, do my hair or barely take care of my kids. My hands stopped working. With the help of both of my occupational therapists I was able to gain some function back but I have never fully recovered.
The mere fact that I am typing six days after surgery shows how impressive this surgery really is. But even more impressive is I have not had any burning sensation in my left hand since the surgery. Not once. In fact, in the six days I have been able to do go back to “light” activity and I have not experienced any symptoms other than a zinger if I bothered the incision site or a soreness from over using my hand or wrist. Knock on wood to not experience any symptoms since the surgery is a dream come true.
Seeing that The Ovation Technique is so new there are only four clinics in the world that do this: Green Bay, WI; Mequon, WI; Chicago, IL and soon-to-be Denver, CO. And yes patients do fly to one location or another. Seeing as I live in Waukesha, WI I did my surgery at the Mequon location with Dr. Mark Niedfeldt. For me this process go something like this:
- I filled out the form on-line requesting a virtual consult with one of their incredible PA-Cs.
- The very next day I got a call back to set up the consult.
- The following week I did a 90 minute consult with the amazing Andrea Schraith-PA-C.
- In the meantime the clinic was able to get their hands on two of my EMGs for Dr. Niedfeldt to review and give the green light to the surgery.
- Since he only does surgeries on Tuesdays at the Mequon clinic, I booked the surgeries a week apart. (If you have to fly in you can have both hands done at the same time, otherwise they prefer there is at least a week in-between.)
On the day of the surgery:
- I first met with Andrea to complete the physical part of the consult (not that this would impact having the surgery).
- Then I get to meet the ever-fabulous Dr. Niedfeldt. We chatted for a few minutes as he explained the surgical procedure to me and then we walked back to the procedure room.
- Once I get washed up and on the table, the drape goes up.
- Next to me is a screen where I can watch the ultrasound or I can look up at the television screen above my head to watch and listen to the amazing beach scene. (My dad, who was my driver, heard the patient before me tell her driver she feel asleep during her surgery.)
- Dr. Niedfeldt put some gel on my wrist, started up the ultrasound and took some measurements.
- He then made some marks on me.
- Dr. Niedfeldt then injected me twice with lidocaine.
- Then he poked two holes: one in my palm and one in my wrist.
- He continued to inject lidocaine as he went along so I would not feel pain.
- Dr. Niedfeldt guided the thread thru the holes all the while using the ultrasound.
- There was some tugging motions occurred and snap.
- All done.
My hand was cleaned and wrapped up with instructions of compression for an hour and pain management. After the numbing agent wore off I was in some pain but nothing ice and Ibuprofen could not handle. I kept waiting for it to get worse and it never did. Now I understand why they do not provide pain killers. They are not necessary.
The following day Tarrah O’Donnell, PA-C called to see how I was doing. Then on Thursday Andrea and I talked and I took off my bandage to make sure the two tiny holes were doing okay, and they were. If I had any concerns I could either take photos or set up a virtual call. As you can see in the photo below there is bruising and there was also swelling which both were expected. As you can see, a patient of Ovation is well cared for and in the best care possible.
While Ovation Hand Institute takes some insurances they do not take Medicare. They offer the option of using CreditCare for self-pay patients which if approved the patient can pay CreditCare back in interest free monthly installments. Worth every penny.
I am happy to report that I had my right hand done on Tuesday. I was pleasantly surprised that my right hand was no where as sore as my left hand and my right hand has been more functional than my left hand. Andrea explained there is no rhyme or reason as to why one hand responds differently than the other and she was not wrong. And Tuesday night was the first night I slept thru without my hands waking me up with burning/searing pain. In fact, I woke up before my alarm even went off which never happens, just ask my kids.
This revolutionary carpal tunnel release surgery has already given me a new lease on living.
Please, stand and give a round of well earned applause for Ovation Hand Institute.
For more information on Ovation Hand Institute go to http://www.ovationhand.com
Andrea says
Ovation indeed/ give yourself a ? – or two!! How amazing is this surgery, the fact that you learned about it and most importantly, have had immediate results.
Might be one of the highlights of your summer.