TRIGGER FINGER OPERATIONS

http://stlukesurgery.co.uk/

What is Trigger Finger?
Painful clicking of the finger or thumb is called Trigger finger or Trigger thumb.
It is caused by tightening of the pulley in front of the bone at the base of the finger through which the tendon bending the fingers slide up and down.The tendon develops a small nodule which when passing through the tight pulley causes the click and pain.
It starts of as a pain in the base of the finger in front. As the pulley gradually becomes more tight there is click and pain, worse after a period of rest. The typical trigger occurs when the finger is stuck in the bend position and when you use force to straighten, it suddenly ficks open with pain as the nodule squeezes through the pulley. Ultimately the pulley becomes too tight to allow this to happen and the finger is permanenetly stuck in bent or straight position.
Treatment.
In early stages non operative treatment will work well. Temporary worsening of the condition is due to swelling and some inflammation. This responds well to antinflammatory medication like Ibuprofen or resting it by splinting to allow the swelling to go down. Cheap enough splints are available on ebay or Amazon.(search trigger finger splint) It may take about 3 weeks for the inflammation to subside.
Cortisone injection.
If resting, medications etc are not working,  Cortisone injection is a good option. In 50 % of patients one or two cortisone injection will cure the condition.
We do this injection for NHS patients and privately.
Operation.
If all non operative measures fail or if the finger is completely stuck, Operation of Trigger finger release will almost certainly cure the condition.
We have been doing this operation at St Luke’s for the last 15 years with excellent results.
The Operation is done after numbing the area with local anaesthetic as a day case.
It takes about 3 to 6 weeks for full recovery.
Audit.
We audit the results of all our operations. In 2016 we operated on 21 patients with trigger finger. Two year follow up was done, 16 patients were traceable. There was complete relief from triggering in all patients. No patient had any complication like infection or nerve damage. There was 100% satisfaction rate.
Private Operations.
We do operate on private patients. The cost of operation is £450.00. It will cost more if multiple fingers need release.

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