hi guys
have done a bit of a search but not found anything discussed so far.

had an upper arm flap done plus the left side ND. After the op my plastic surgeon said they must have pinched some nerves during the graft as i had palsy in my left arm/hand. cant lift wrist up and have constant numbness/pain/pins and needles from elbow to thumb and forefinger.

similarly the neck is numb etc.

not scheduled to see my PS for another week or so (he said palsy should sort itself out in 3 weeks) but wondering if anyone has had the same problem and whether they had any physical therapy to improve? or does it just take time?

no rads or chemo, so is purely from the surgery (2 wks ago).

cheers again
jp

jp

I had numbness on my right foot from graft for about 2 months before it completly went away, I still have a bit of numbness from ND on right side too. It's been 6 months since surgery and around 3 months since treatment ended. It should get better with time.

thanks for the advice!
cheers
jp

Jon,

I can't address the arm problem, but it is possible that the numbness in your neck could go away eventually. Almost 5 years later, my neck is still numb. It's really not a big deal.

Good luck with the other problems which seem quite a bit more significant.

Massage and Physical therapy really help a lot. The neck dissection and radiation leave behind tons of scar tissue.
BE patient and definitely get working with a physical therapist as soon as you can. It will really help. K

thanks Kate..
neck is improving each day, but the arm/hand not so good. the pain/pins and needles have got more intense, but i'm hoping that's cause more blood flowing in and soon should be normal. meet plastic surgeon tomorrow so will ask about finding me a physio to help out.

against better judgement played about 6 or 7 minutes of indoor soccer a few nights ago. manage not to get bumped on hand or neck...and was stoked to do something other than watch tele!!

hope everyone is well
jp

Hi all
just an update, more for the random ones who get same problem as me and search like i did but found nothing!

my plastic surgeon said the radial nerve was damaged either when he took the graft (from upper arm) or by the tourniquet they used...he said he has done a bunch of grafts from that part of the arm and it's never happened before!

so if you search for pins and needles from a graft on this forum and find this thread you're just unlucky.

expect to be normal anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months post op (!!)

i still haven't found a painkiller that dulls the sensation, but am getting four hour sleep blocks from the strong stuff, so use that.

have just found in the last 24 hours that a heat sack makes it feel better too, so try that!

cheers
jon

ps second game of soccer under belt (15 mins this time)!!