When to get trigger finger surgery
Trigger finger surgery is recommended when either your finger is stuck in a fully bent or straightened position, or if you have failed treatment with stretching and steroid injections. At Easy Orthopedics in Colorado Springs, we frequently see patients with trigger finger, and try to avoid surgery if at all possible.
What happens if you don’t fix a trigger finger?
If you don’t fix a trigger finger then it may become progressively painful, and in extreme cases it can become stuck in a straight or bent position. If it is stuck in a straight or bent position for a long period of time, the finger can still become stiff even if the trigger finger is addressed surgically. Most people don’t end up with a stuck trigger finger, rather they have a painful hand with a finger that sometimes gets stuck.
Is surgery the only way to fix a trigger finger?
Surgery is not the only way to fix a trigger finger, and is not the first line of treatment. The first line of treatment are some simple stretches that you can do at home. If that doesn’t work, then up to three steroid injections can be done into the hand, which in a majority of cases can be curative, meaning that it will take care of the trigger finger for good. In the minority of cases, some patients will still have a symptomatic trigger finger despite steroid injections and stretches. For these patients surgery is a good option.
What is the down time for trigger finger surgery?
It will take around six weeks for your trigger finger to heal completely, but in most cases people can get back to their daily activities in a few days, as long as it doesn’t involve any heavy usage of the hand. As far as surgeries are concerned, this surgery is much more minimally disruptive to one’s life than the multitude of other surgeries that we do as orthopedic surgeons.
I hope we were able to answer some of your questions about when to get trigger finger surgery. If you would like us to evaluate your trigger finger and are in the Colorado area, contact us below to make an appointment at Easy Orthopedics.
