As of Python 3.9, string.removeprefix and string.removesuffix are available.

The following code produces '(word)'.

'((word))'.removeprefix('(').removesuffix(')')

It is unclear whether the OP wants a solution that strips exactly-one or all-but-one parens. This solution accomplishes the former, which is a reasonable interpretation based on their ultimate question.

Is there a way to specify that I only want the first and last one removed?