After Procedure Care

Swelling

Injury, and even surgery, can cause significant swelling in the upper extremity. There are simple tricks to help control this, such as keeping your hand and arm elevated or using an ice pack with a light towel wrapped around it.

A little bit of swelling is normal, but too much can be dangerous. Compartment syndrome is a condition in which so much swelling occurs that the pressure exceeds the ability of blood vessels to adequately perfuse muscles and nerves in that compartment. The earliest sign is increasing and uncontrollable pain. Other symptoms include paresthesias (tingling or numbness in your fingers that is getting worse), pallor (skin looks pale), congestion (finger tips look purple), loss of normal pulses, or paralysis, though these are often later findings.

If you are concerned about the amount of swelling you are experiencing or if your splint feels too tight, please call our office line at 210-558-7025. If you are experiencing pain that seems out of the ordinary or you are concerned about the color or feeling in your fingers and are unable to get a hold of a member of our team, try to loosen your dressing and present to an emergency facility for evaluation.

Motion

Life is motion! Our goal is to get you back to living your life as soon as possible. As much as you can safely do, try to move around after your surgery. Immobility can be dangerous and can lead to complications such as deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolus (PE) and pressure ulcers, among others.

Motion also applies to your hand. Sometimes your surgeon will ask you not to move your fingers right away due to specific concerns about healing and recovery. Very often, however, we want you moving right away, as stiffness after surgery or injury can be difficult to overcome. If you have any questions or are not sure about what you can and cannot do after surgery, please call us at 210-558-7025.

If you remember receiving a handout about finger motion (the so-called “Six-Pack Exercises") but have since lost it, click here to download another copy.

Therapy

Often, but not always, your surgeon will want you to follow up with a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) after your surgery. If you are not sure, you may call our Therapy Department at 210-478-5211 or call the main line.