Post Recovery - Numbness in outer right hand & getting over bad chest cold

[Ma Ritz]

Hi all! My first time posting, but must say have enjoyed reading posts getting more knowledgable all the time. As you'll see I had an aortic valve change to metal (12.22.10), with fluid build up to follow (week later). I'm currently getting over a bad chest cold which has left me a little weak. Has this happened to others? Other question is, anyone have problem with numbness in outer fingers after surgery? My heart surgeon said to give it 3 months before goin to an orthopedic dr. It is slowly getting better in my right hand, but wanted to know if others had this, and suggestions on how to help in it getting better. Thanks all.

 

[Greg a]

WELCOME to our OHS family I have peripheral neuropathy in acouple of fingers and both feet and it is related to diabetes

 

[nngbwh]

I just want to say Hi and welcome to VR. I don't recall having any numbness in my hand after surgery. Someone here might be able to help you more.

 

[Ma Ritz]

Thank-you for the Welcome. I've enjoyed this site sooo much. Great information and such nice people.

 

[Jkm7]

Welcome Ma Ritz. Happy you found us.

Sorry to hear about your cold and the numbness in your hand. I personally did not experience that but there are things that happen to some but not others with this surgery. Hopefully it will continue to resolve itself as you say it has improved.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[auricula]

I have numbness in my ring and pinky fingers of my left hand. It started right after surgery and is unchanged almost 7 weeks later. The fingers feel very stressed. They feel both numb and tingly and extremely cold; I wear a glove on that hand indoors. They are also weak and I learned that I can't use them to balance an object in my hand or I will drop it. They feel very tight when I try to make a fist. When those two fingers rub together the sensation is very weird and they don't feel like part of my body. The pinky is much worse than the ring finger. It feels like there are five of them inside the skin of one; I keep comparing its appearance with that of my right one and am surprised that it is no larger. If I do anything that involves my left hand, e.g. yesterday I raked leaves, my forearm feels weak and the fingers hurt more than usual.

A physiatrist I consulted believes that the nerves of the brachial plexus (a network of nerves originating in the spine near the neck and shoulder and running into the arm) were stretched during surgery and this caused the palsy. He showed me drawings of that area in Gray's Anatomy and said damage there translates into numbness in the same two fingers with which we are both experiencing problems. Nerves regenerate very slowly so I not expecting relief any time soon. If you want to see a specialist it might be good to consider a neurologist. I asked if I should have PT on my upper back but it was not recommended. I was taught some simple hand exercises but they have not helped at all. In case you want to try them, here they are: 1) spread fingers, then squeeze hand into a fist; 2) tap and touch each finger to the thumb several times; 3) squeeze a soft ball; 4) rest your hand in a loose fist on a table and then slowly raise the fist from the wrist. I have not tried this, but I think it would be comforting to soak the hand in a bowl of warm water and Epsom salts.

I have the OK to start cardiac rehab but am not sure I want to do this with a poorly functioning hand.

Please post here what happens with your hand and if you seek any treatment. My surgery was a month after yours and I am glad to hear that your hand is getting better. Pat

p.s. I also had fluid buildup and a very bad chest cold after release from the hospital.

 

[auricula]

Today I drove for the first time since surgery. I was not feeling very confident and asked my husband to ride along. The trip was just a few miles to the library and I found that the palsy in my two fingers made it very difficult. I could not get my left hand situated comfortably on the steering wheel and kept trying different positions but none worked. The vibrations in my old Jeep caused discomfort all the way from the fingers up to my elbow and this was distracting. My husband noted that I kept pulling to the right. I had trouble concentrating on staying in my lane. Driving with just my right hand felt better but a bit risky. I think starting cardiac rehab would not be wise at this time.

 

[Mentu]

I had a period of numbness in one hand and it did fade away. The hand exercises may not seem to help at first but if you keep doing them they will reduce muscle atrophy. I don't know if they helped restore the nerve sensations or whether the exercises just made me more aware that numbness was fading. It seems to me that for most of us it is these relatively "minor" problems that make recovery more interesting. As your recovery progresses, let us know how your hand is doing.

Larry

 

[jake]

I had the exact same numbness you speak of. It made typing nearly impossible and I used to drop everything I heald in my left hand. The Doctor said it would go away in a few weeks. I am now a little bit over 3 months post-op and its 100% gone. It got better starting about 6 weeks in and was completely gone by 10 weeks.

Doctor said it was due to compression of the ulner nerve during surgery and that its is fairly common. Don’t sweat it, it will go away.

 

[drivetopless]

I woke from surgery with my left hand totally numb and it stayed that way 4 or 5 days. It slowly got better and is okay now. As it got better the outer two fingers where the last to wake up. I do think the surgery can pinch/injure nerves and create some issues for a while. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Jeff Edmonton]

No problems at all here. I started doing finger exercises right away to check and make sure everything was still working. I feel very fortunate so far that I have no post op issues, although I have not gone for my checkup yet.
No sore back or shoulders, cold feet and slight SOB is all I have noticed and some fear of the unknown for my future. I have not had a cold all year but I was worried about it before surgery.

 

[dmeehan]

I have the same experience as Jeff. No problems like this to speak of (yet!) Like Jeff, I also started doing leg, foot, finger, and hand exercises right away to "get stuff moving" again.