[Robl]

Morning All

Has anyone had any surgery to fix finger tendon injuries?

I'm faced with the decision whether to undergo surgery to release my bent ring finger on my left hand, the consultant thinks I completely ruptured the pulley on my second knuckle resulting in the tendon "bowing" this has slowly gotten worse over the last year or so.

Since then I've been still able to climb to a reasonable level, bouldering and sport climbing to F7b, however i do feel its holding me back somewhat.

Has anyone had the same problem? What did you decide? How did you recover ?

Cheers!

[slackline]

Are you talking about Dupuytren's contracture?

There was an article by Pete O'Donovan.

And amazingly if you search these forums there are some threads (and here and here).

Hope thats useful, the decision will be yours though.

slack

[Robl]

Hi Slack.. No its not that syndrome there is not "lump" stopping the tendon from extending... ;o) i'll post a pic

I did search for tendon injuries but the search came up with looooads of posts, I realise the decision is ultimately mine, I'm just curious if anyone else has been through the same. 

[slackline]

Hi Slack.. No its not that syndrome there is not "lump" stopping the tendon from extending... ;o) i'll post a pic

I did search for tendon injuries but the search came up with looooads of posts, I realise the decision is ultimately mine, I'm just curious if anyone else has been through the same. 

Duputryen's is in essence a shortening/bowing of the tendon, albeit a natural (and as yet no known cause) so it may be relevant.

[Robl]

Cheers Slackline... I'll have a read through..

This is my left hand currently.....

[saltbeef]

Hi Slack.. No its not that syndrome there is not "lump" stopping the tendon from extending... ;o) i'll post a pic

I did search for tendon injuries but the search came up with looooads of posts, I realise the decision is ultimately mine, I'm just curious if anyone else has been through the same. 

Duputryen's is in essence a shortening/bowing of the tendon, albeit a natural (and as yet no known cause) so it may be relevant.

no its not. its a contracture of the fascia of the palm

[slackline]

Duputryen's is in essence a shortening/bowing of the tendon, albeit a natural (and as yet no known cause) so it may be relevant.

no its not. its a contracture of the fascia of the palm

I sit corrected, my apologies.

[SA Chris]

Cheers Slackline... I'll have a read through..

This is my left hand currently.....

I recommend you smack the knuckle of that finger with a heavy book. Encyclopedia Britannia or somesuch.

This comes with no medical evidence or training whatsoever.

Must be nasty, good luck with whatever happens.

[GCW]

Is it fairly longstanding at that degree of flexion?  It's likely you have some flexor sheath scarring as well as volar plate contracture.
What's being offered?  Tendon lengthening plus check rein release? 

It's a significant FFD if that's maximal extension and I presume you've already had extensive physio and passive stretch.  The problem with flexor surgery is that when it works it's useful and you should get more (but not full) movement.  When it goes wrong the finger may be the same or even worse.

I assume you're seeing a plastic surgeon or a hand orthopod?  I would hope they've spoken to you at length about it.

[Robl]

I'm due to see the hand "specialist" plastic surgeon at my next appointment... I should have been seeing him his wk but thats another story....  NHS  I'm hoping he'll have more of a detailed idea of what will need to take place.

The guy i spoke to this week mentioned a procedure where the tendon is harvested from my forearm and then used to lengthen the one in my finger to enable almost full movement if its successful. - BUT he wasn't sure on the details as it wasn't his area of specialist.

I've had months of physio and stretching, and wearing a splint on a nite to try and slowly force it back straight, but to no avail.

[tomtom]

Hi Rob,
Hope the meeting with the consultant goes well... the clincher for me would be whether it could be worse after the surgery or not.. if its not adding to your hand strength at all then maybe anything is better than nothing? Mind you, taking some tendon from the arm would concern me a bit - depends which tendon!
Splint at night sounds bad..
I'm not over this week - but out to the cliff one eve the week after?
Tom

[GCW]

If you're talking about palmaris longus weave for FDS lengthening, I'm not aware of any data for reliability in climbers.  I would expect with proper rehab it should be OK, but climbing would certainly be out for a while.

[GCW]

Although, be aware some flexor surgery needs to be done as a 2 stage procedure depending on your specific problem (ie silastic rod insertion, then tendon graft 6 weeks after).  Doesn't sound like you'll need it from what you've said, though.

I'd discuss it in depth with your hand guy, flexor surgery is fairly operator dependant.

[Houdini]

I'd also forget what it can do for your climbing and focus on what it can do for your daily life.  Good luck.

[Robl]

Hi Rob,
Hope the meeting with the consultant goes well... the clincher for me would be whether it could be worse after the surgery or not.. if its not adding to your hand strength at all then maybe anything is better than nothing? Mind you, taking some tendon from the arm would concern me a bit - depends which tendon!
Splint at night sounds bad..
I'm not over this week - but out to the cliff one eve the week after?
Tom

Yes Tom - I have stu's roof to work.... about time it went it the bag.... any nite next wk is good for me... i'll keep the mat and shoes in the car all wk. 


My general thinking is... if it can get back to as strong as it is now, but not bent - then its a go! Its still a lot weaker than my right hand but i can atleast still climb on it. Its more annoying not being able to put my hand in my pocket or put it in a crack......