I don't have a picture of this right now, but I'll take one and post it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
My trigger thumb and surgery tomorrow
I am going in for surgery tomorrow on my trigger thumb. Apparently trigger finger or trigger thumb is caused by inflamation around the joint and tendon. Mine has some sort of related cyst on the place where my thumb joint meets my hand. That's very common. Trigger thumb is called digital tenovaginitis stenosans. Tomorrow I am going to be knocked out and my doc is going to do the surgery. Since I have diabetes, I get the first slot in the morning, which means I have to be there at 6:30 am, and I'm not thrilled about that. A friend of mine (I call him "Happy Charlie") is coming to pick me up at noon, around the time I will be out of recovery. We will need to go to the pharmacy to fill the prescription for the pain medication, then off to my house. At some point my 17 year old daughter Camille will relieve Charlie. I need to figure out what kind of "loose clothing" to wear tomorrow, and I'm not sure I have anything that will work, except maybe my pajama top. I might try that. I don't know how big the bandage on my hand is going to be. It would be a drag to have to split open a shirt just to get my hand in there. Maybe the pajama top is the right thing to take. I could always replace the pajamas, right?
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8 comments:
Hi,
Just found your blog while searching for a good doctor for trigger finger. Hope your surgery went well. Let us know how you're doing.
I'm doing well. It hardly hurts at all, and it didn't hurt that badly after the surgery. What was difficult was the anesthesia and them putting a breathing tube down my throat (aftereffects -- swollen glands, no sore throat). I hope you find a good doctor. My mother had this surgery and her recovery was very difficult. I think my doc was better than hers. Keep hunting!
Do you mind if I ask who your doctor was and where the surgery was done? I didn't know that the surgery required general anesthesia. :-(
The doctor's name is Boyer and he is at the Center for Advanced Medicine on Forest Park Parkway and Kingshighway in Saint Louis. That is right next to Barnes-Jewish Hospital. You can have the surgery done with a local if you want, but I don't like to "be there" when they are operating on me. I think it is up to your doctor. The surgery was on the 4th floor of the Center for Advanced Medicine. That is where they do the outpatient surgeries.
Thanks for that info Candice. My son had surgery there a couple of years ago and had good results.
I don't like the idea of "being there" either, but I thought there was something in between. I guess I'll find out more when I see a doctor, and I'll look into Dr. Boyer.
Thanks again,
ginger
Note: For some reason I keep getting an "incorrect password" error when I try to use my login info, so I'm using an anonymous post.
Hi Ginger --
Yeah, Dr. Boyer seems to be a good doctor. I have a little tiny incision at the base of my thumb -- maybe an inch long. My mother, on the other hand, has an incision half way across her palm and also on the thumb. I don't know why there is such a big difference. I trust Dr. Boyer. I hope you do explore the anesthesia options. Good luck and let me know how it's going!
Candice
I forgot to ask if your doctor suggested, or if you tried, cortisone injection before deciding on surgery.
ginger
Yes, he did ask if I wanted an injection, but everyone I know who has had this condition says that the cortisone shots only last a day or two, and on top of that they are very painful. Also, the shot doesn't make the condition go away. Eventually, you have to have the surgery. So I told the doc I wanted to have him fix it and to skip the cortisone shot stage.
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