@vdm:
Nerve healing stages
Stage 1: swelling (from post-op)
The nerves become swollen from surgery. There’s too much fluid post-op and it short-circuits the nerve signals. As the swelling starts settling down, the nerves fire better. This period lasts about 2-3 weeks.
Stage 2: “Schwan cells that wrap around each of the nerves” (I have no idea of Schwan is spelled correctly!!). The Schwan cells around the nerve will die back when the nerve has been injured or manipulated, but then the Schwan cells will resprout and grow back around the nerve again. This phase takes 3-6 months. The nerves start firing more efficiently once they have efficient Schwan cells. (my doctor referenced this as being part of the myelin sheath regeneration
Stage 3: The nerve cable has to resprout all the way to the end of the axon. This is about a one year process.
This was the layman’s version my doctor explained to me. It’s pretty basic but at least it helped me to understand the healing timelines better. Basically anything that improves initially is only due to swelling. The real nerve regeneration begins to improve within 6 months of surgery but can continue for up to 18 months after surgery (and sometimes a little longer).