Trigger finger may require surgery

September 22, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I have a trigger finger. Three times the doctor has injected it to resolve the problem. He tells me there will be no more injections and that I must have surgery. Is there another solution? If not, can you detail the surgery for me? Thank you.

DEAR READER: When a finger or thumb catches in a bent position and will straighten only with a popping or snapping similar to the trigger on a gun being pulled and released, the condition is referred to as trigger finger, medically referred to as stenosing tenosynovitis. The condition commonly occurs in the dominant hand, although both hands might be involved. When the condition becomes severe, the finger may remain locked in the bent position.
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Gott enters the 21st century

February 12, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: Do you have an archive online or otherwise of past columns? In the past month or two, I think you had a column entry that discussed the condition known as trigger finger. In the past two weeks, my husband has had a flare-up of this condition. He is 47, and his 78-year-old mother also suffers with trigger finger.
Any advice or experience from you or my fellow readers/writers would be welcomed. Thank you.
DEAR READER: First, let me discuss your husband’s condition, and I’ll expand on your inquiry from there. [Read more...]

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Recurring Trigger Finger Difficult To Treat

March 31, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I get trigger finger. This is the third one I have gotten in the last two years. A cortisone shot does nothing and surgery is the only thing that has helped me. The episodes are very painful and I want to know if there is anything to prevent them from happening again.

DEAR READER:
Sadly, you are probably a pro when it comes to recognizing the symptoms of a trigger finger. However, I will bring my reading audience up to speed before I answer your question.

Trigger finger is a condition in which any finger joint catches in a bent position (partial dislocation). An individual might be able to straighten the finger with a gun’s trigger-like motion and snap it back into proper position; thus the name. [Read more...]

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