i have had surgery on my wrist (not carpal tunnel, but the others having ops that day were carpal tunnel)

if it's done by a hand surgeon, they'll basically knock you out (i had a twilight sedation), put a nerve block in your arm, and do the surgery. it's very quick - a bit uncomfortable afterwards, and you'll likely be in a plaster cast for a couple of weeks so it can heel unhindered. my surgery was more involved than the carpal tunnel and i had no more than panadeine for pain for a few days afterwards.

from what i understand with CT surgery, they simply open up the channel through which the nerve bundle travels. when i went back to the surgeon for follow up two weeks post-op, the girls i'd been waiting with pre-op were there and seemed to have recovered much more easily than i had

i need surgery again to clean up my wrist joint but, to be honest, i'm putting it off. i can manage the pain at the moment with a toddler that is still in need of being picked up - i think i would struggle post op - not with the plastered time - but the bit afterwards. where i feel ok, and go to pick her up and realise it's still not quite right. i'd rather not go through the op without confidence that i'm not going to screw it up with normal life afterwards kwim??

have you looked at massage to try and loosen the CT? i have been shown how to do it myself to give relief (i do have CT issues when my wrist flares). it hurts in the moment, but gives heaps of relief. i've so far put off returning to the surgeon for a couple of years... procrastinating...

oh, the actual op isn't too bad either - i woke during mine (that isn't normal!) and they said about knocking me back out - given i wasn't feeling anything due to the nerve block, i asked if i could watch. was rather interesting having them explain it to me at the time!

ETA - if you can, make sure you see a hand surgeon, not a general orthopedic surgeon - i have had wrist surgery by both - ortho had me in plaster for a month, and i have a three inch scar. hand surgeon was two weeks in plaster, and i have two tiny (less than 5mm) scars... MUCH easier recovery