Post-op swelling: What's normal?

My brother got wiped out on his bike... total wreck. He’s gonna be fine eventually, everything heals, but man, his arm is looking like a banana right now. It’s messed up. He can't feel anything, there are open wounds everywhere, and the swelling is insane—it looks like three times its actual size. The doctors told us they can't really do anything until the swelling goes down. Right now, he just has this little tube draining blood from the arm, and he's been stuck like that for a week already. Anyone dealt with something similar? Any advice?

I’ve had a bit of experience dealing with abscesses. At its core, an abscess is just the body’s way of reacting to an injury or an infection, which makes them incredibly awkward to operate on. Local anesthesia doesn't always take properly, you have to cut through multiple layers of tissue, and everything is positioned unnaturally. Usually, the preferred approach is to let the abscess drain on its own—meaning antibiotics, drainage, and waiting for the body to heal enough so we can actually diagnose if any further procedures are necessary.

If there’s any loss of sensation, that could be a side effect of the swelling itself. However, it is vital that he mentions this to his doctors to ensure they are monitoring him closely for any potential nerve damage.

An inflamed arm can be operated on if absolutely necessary, though if it isn't an emergency, it’s honestly better for your brother to just wait for the swelling to subside.

The doctors know she can't feel her arm. Honestly, I’m praying it’s just massive swelling, but man, given how fast this happened and how bad the arm looks, I'm terrified they actually tore some nerves. It’s killing him because he’s stuck just waiting around, and he’s seriously losing his mind—he's fed up with lying on his back unable to move an inch. We’ve had zero progress with that swelling for seven days now. And every single time he tries to shift, they have to sedate him because his hands have to stay kept wide open.