After Your Surgery

General instructions after hand and arm surgery

What to expect in the first days after surgery, for every procedure.

Splint and cast care

How to protect your splint or cast and your skin underneath.

Swelling, scar and sensitivity care at home

A home program for the weeks after the incision has healed.

Carpal tunnel release (open)

Surgery to take pressure off the median nerve at the wrist

Cubital tunnel release (in place)

Surgery to take pressure off the ulnar nerve at the elbow

Cubital tunnel release with ulnar nerve transposition

Surgery to move the ulnar nerve to the front of the elbow

Carpal and cubital tunnel release together

Releasing the median nerve at the wrist and the ulnar nerve at the elbow in one surgery

Nerve repair, nerve graft and neuroma surgery

Surgery to repair or reconstruct an injured nerve in the hand or arm

Endoscopic carpal tunnel release

Endoscopic surgery to take pressure off the median nerve at the wrist

Call for the current procedure handout.

Trigger finger or trigger thumb release

Surgery to release a tight pulley so the finger moves smoothly

de Quervain release (first dorsal compartment release)

Surgery to free the thumb tendons at the thumb side of the wrist

Flexor tendon repair

Surgery to repair a tendon that bends the finger or thumb

Sagittal band repair or reconstruction

Surgery to keep the extensor tendon centered over the knuckle

Triceps tendon repair

Surgery to reattach the triceps tendon at the back of the elbow

Mallet finger DIP pinning

Pin fixation to hold the fingertip joint in position while it heals

Finger fracture surgery (pins, screws or plate)

Surgery to hold a broken finger bone in place while it heals

Metacarpal (hand bone) fracture surgery

Surgery to hold a broken hand bone in place while it heals

Wrist fracture surgery (distal radius ORIF)

Surgery to repair a broken wrist with a plate and screws

Scaphoid fracture surgery

Surgery to fix a broken scaphoid bone in the wrist with a screw

Forearm fracture surgery

Surgery to repair a broken radius, ulna or both with plates and screws

Hardware removal

Surgery to remove a plate, screws or pins that are no longer needed

Wrist arthroscopy with TFCC debridement

Wrist scope to clean up a tear on the small-finger side of the wrist

Wrist arthroscopy with TFCC repair

Wrist scope to repair a tear on the small-finger side of the wrist

Scapholunate ligament repair or reconstruction (with wrist denervation)

Surgery to repair or rebuild a key ligament between two wrist bones

ECU tendon stabilization

Surgery to stabilize the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon at the wrist

Call for the current procedure handout.

Ulnar stump stabilization

Surgery to stabilize the end of the ulna at the wrist

Later-phase guide: use your printed day-of-surgery handout first.

Thumb CMC arthroplasty (thumb base arthritis surgery)

Surgery to relieve arthritis pain at the base of the thumb

Finger joint fusion (PIP or DIP)

Surgery to permanently join the bones of a painful or unstable finger joint

Proximal row carpectomy

Surgery to remove three arthritic wrist bones to relieve pain and keep motion

Scaphoid excision and four-corner (intercarpal) fusion

Surgery to relieve wrist arthritis by fusing small wrist bones

Sauvé-Kapandji procedure

Surgery for arthritis or instability where the forearm bones meet at the wrist

Thumb ligament repair (UCL)

Surgery to repair the ligament on the inside of the thumb knuckle

Elbow arthroscopy

Elbow scope surgery through small incisions

Olecranon (elbow tip) fracture surgery

Surgery to repair a break at the tip of the elbow

Radial head fracture surgery (repair or replacement)

Surgery to repair or replace the broken top of the radius at the elbow

Distal biceps repair

Repair of the biceps tendon near the elbow

Later-phase guide: use your printed day-of-surgery handout first.

Ganglion cyst excision

Surgery to remove a fluid-filled cyst at the wrist or hand

Mass or cyst excision (hand and finger)

Surgery to remove a lump from the hand or finger

Dupuytren fasciectomy

Surgery to remove the thick cords that pull the fingers into the palm

Digit Widget (finger straightening device)

A small external device that gradually straightens a bent finger

Surgery for a hand or arm injury

General care after repair of a complex hand or upper-extremity injury

Surgery for a hand or arm infection

Care after draining and cleaning an infection

Home exercises after carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel surgery

Home exercises after de Quervain release

Home exercises after trigger finger release

Thumb CMC arthroplasty — exercises around 10 weeks