Trigger Finger; Causes, Symptoms & Treatment Tips

Surgical Treatment

Surgical treatment is used in some cases including:

• Those who do not respond to conservative treatment
• Those who have severe disease that their fingers can no longer extend and are fixed in position.
• Children: It is important to understand that trigger finger can rarely cause long-term problems for adults, but for children whose bones are continuously growing, it can result in a permanent deformity and loss of hand function, making surgical treatment a necessity.

Surgery can be done either through an open or a percutaneous approach. The open approach involves making an incision and then dissecting until the tendon is reached, while the percutaneous approach can be done without an incision. While the percutaneous approach leaves a smaller scar, it is not always possible. Surgery involves cutting a small fibrous band in your finger that is restricting the extension of your fingers.

The procedure is considered minor and may be done without general anesthesia. Your doctor may suggest doing a regional block, which is a method of anesthesia where only the arm is numbed.

After the surgery, the doctor will place your hand in a temporary splint for a few days then gradual mobility will be encouraged, possibly with the help of physiotherapy. It is unlikely that you will need more than one surgery, and only the fingers which have trigger finger are the ones operated on.