Pinched nerve—is surgery actually necessary?

A little while back, my pinky and ring finger on my left hand just went numb. At first, I figured I’d just slept on it wrong or caught it on something, but when the feeling didn't come back, I realized I couldn't just ignore it and decided to go see a doctor...
Basically, I went through the whole routine—X-rays for my lower back and my arm, then that thing where they run electricity through you (they totally 😁 me). Turns out, it's a pinched nerve in my elbow. They sent me over to an orthopedic surgeon, and lucky me, I ended up seeing one of the top specialists in the country. And what does he say? Surgery. Honestly, it kind of floored me. It wasn't even about being scared of the knife, per se; I just genuinely believed I could fix this with some physical therapy or a few stretches. But he was adamant that won't work, and he actually suggested I get a second opinion from another specialist. So, here I am, looking for one 😁 Along with that, he warned me that if I don't deal with it, the nerve might actually die. Since that specific nerve controls how my fingers move, we're talking potential cramping and loss of dexterity... which isn't exactly a comforting thought, especially since I've already started getting these weird spasms lately... (in my fingers, just so we're clear 😁).
Has anyone else dealt with something like this? Or maybe you know someone who managed to sort this out using alternative medicine? I've been reading the threads here about chiropractors and I'm thinking about booking an appointment, so if anyone has been down that road, I'd love some guidance...

Thanks in advance!

Honestly, you really ought to get a second opinion from a specialist who actually deals with this kind of thing, rather than relying on a forum like this.

It’s just impossible to give anyone a real second opinion over the internet... you need an actual physical exam and someone to look over your lab results, imaging, and all that stuff personally.

Thanks, I really appreciate you looking out for me.
That’s exactly what I’m planning to do, which is why I put that 😁 right there in my post—I wanted to see if anyone else here had a different take.
Honestly, I was just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this exact mess and managed to fix it without having to go under the knife.