Trouble With Hand/Fingers: Ganglion, Schwanoma & Nerve Decompression

Abir,

It's not all bad, at least not in my case.

My hand is "normal" except for the following.
- When it gets cold outside my fingers get cold quickly and are not as nimble.
- Writing with a pen is slow, but then again I don't have to write much so this isn't a problem.
- Side-wards motion of my fingers have improved but is not normal, but I can live with it.
- My hand still looks the same. The atrophied muscles did not come back.

Other Comments
- I can now do a few finger tip pushups
- Typing on the computer is no problem.
- I would be able to play piano if I knew how to play the piano (in other words I have pretty good dexterity).
- Nobody notices my hand unless I point it out to them and make it obvious by positioning my thumb under my hand to emphasize the muscle loss.

I exercise my hand and fingers every day. I believe that by building up the surrounding muscles they help compensate for the loss of the atrophied muscle. I pulled, yanked and stretched my bent fingers for a long time to try to straighten them out and mostly it worked. They almost pass for normal looking. I can basically do anything I could do before but some things of course will have limitations.

Sorry about the bad news about the atrophied muscle not growing back after nerve damage (as I was told to by my neurosurgeon). You say you are going back to the physiotherapist to start rebuilding the muscles. While you are there please ask him about the muscle rebuilding process. I (and others who read this webpage) would be interested to hear what he has to say about rebuilding atrophied muscles from nerve damage and other conditions as well. If you get a chance please write back and tell us.

Also, if I were you, I wouldn't lose all hope of your muscles not coming back. It may depend in part on the degree of atrophy to the muscle (the
damage already done) and if the condition was repaired in time. Since your doctors and physiotherapist didn't tell you "all hope is lost" for your lost muscle, you may want to ask them about your particular case and condition. Your situation may be different.

Note - I always wondered if it is possible for the doctor to take some fat or tissue from another part of my body and inject it between the thumb and the forefinger to fill the void left by the atrophied muscle for strictly cosmetic purposes. I have never heard of this being done to make the hand look normal.

Good luck,

Tanner