Expectations after surgery:

Carpal tunnel release can improve strength and decrease pain in most patients, if these patients are good candidates for the surgery. The procedure improves pain, nerve tingling, and numbness better than it improves muscle weakness.

The longer you have had symptoms, the longer the recovery time and the less fully you may recover.

Convalescence:

This surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis. Complete recovery can take anywhere from several weeks to a year, depending on how severely the nerve has been damaged.

A splint may be used to reduce wrist motion for the first few days after surgery. Don't delay moving the wrist for too long, though, because it can become stiff.

The longer the symptoms lasted before surgery, and the more severely damaged the nerve appears at surgery, the longer the recovery time.