Cut tendon in finger
Discussion
Not the best week; on Monday I was cutting a metal tool with my grinder when it jumped and cut my left index finger. I instantly knew it was not looking good so I called my GP surgery who told me to either call NHS 24 or head to hospital; given the blood I decided to drive myself 15 miles to accident and emergency.
I was directed to the small injury clinic and triaged then x-rayed. The nurse gave me a “ring block” injection to numb the pain and checked the injury; she called a surgeon from the orthopaedic department who appeared within 10 minutes, checked the wound and took some pictures on his iphone (to show his consultant) and concluded I would need surgery the following day as I had went through the tendon and a bit of the bone. They cleaned fragments of the cutting disc out of the wound, stitched it up temporarily and I went home. I got a call from the surgeon that night to say it was all good for the next morning and to arrive at 7am. They operated at around midday (under general anaesthetic), and my finger is now in a splint for two weeks, after which I will get another removable splint so I can very lightly exercise it. The recovery could take 6 weeks, which is far from ideal but at least the operation went well. The level of care and treatment was absolutely first class.
Has anybody had a similar injury and would be willing to share their experience?
I was modifying a wheel bearing removal tool when it happened and my wife’s car is currently without a wheel bearing until I can get it fixed….thankfully I now have someone lined up for that!
I was directed to the small injury clinic and triaged then x-rayed. The nurse gave me a “ring block” injection to numb the pain and checked the injury; she called a surgeon from the orthopaedic department who appeared within 10 minutes, checked the wound and took some pictures on his iphone (to show his consultant) and concluded I would need surgery the following day as I had went through the tendon and a bit of the bone. They cleaned fragments of the cutting disc out of the wound, stitched it up temporarily and I went home. I got a call from the surgeon that night to say it was all good for the next morning and to arrive at 7am. They operated at around midday (under general anaesthetic), and my finger is now in a splint for two weeks, after which I will get another removable splint so I can very lightly exercise it. The recovery could take 6 weeks, which is far from ideal but at least the operation went well. The level of care and treatment was absolutely first class.
Has anybody had a similar injury and would be willing to share their experience?
I was modifying a wheel bearing removal tool when it happened and my wife’s car is currently without a wheel bearing until I can get it fixed….thankfully I now have someone lined up for that!
I had the exact same thing... went through the top of my index finger with a bread knife, yes 6 weeks is about right to get back to full use, just think of it like stretching an elastic band from cold, keep flexing it until it hurts everyday and it'll keep improving and you'll be able to flex it further each day... just make sure to keep the wound clean and dry so it can heal...
also, its tempting to take the splint off, but if you knock it and over flex the finger it bloody hurts!
... the surgeon said to me whilst he was operating "how did you do this ? ... must've been a sharp knife" :hehe"
also, its tempting to take the splint off, but if you knock it and over flex the finger it bloody hurts!
... the surgeon said to me whilst he was operating "how did you do this ? ... must've been a sharp knife" :hehe"
My wife is a consultant hand surgeon - she tends to comment that success is partly her skill, but hugely reliant on the physios and the patient doing what the physios tell them to do - so follow all instructions!
high on her list of banned tools in our household - top three are: table saw / chainsaw / angle grinder
really hope it heals well - it is amazing what the body can do and it sounds as though you had really good prompt service...
high on her list of banned tools in our household - top three are: table saw / chainsaw / angle grinder
really hope it heals well - it is amazing what the body can do and it sounds as though you had really good prompt service...
Yep. I did this at my work nearly 10 years ago. Remarkably though I missed most of the nerves as it wasn't really painful. And it did stop bleeding fairly quickly. Just couldn't lift my middle finger.
Did it on a Friday, went to East Surrey for Triage. (Local to work) Was then booked to go to St Georges (my local) on Saturday morning, but when I got there they said "We've had a busy night so come back Sunday
" and they did it under a local. (I took a photo of my hand all opened up after asking the Surgeon if I could. Happy to post if people want 
) I remember they said 20mins. They tourniquet'ed my bicep area. The pins and needles were horrific after 40mins. There was a notice board on the wall, and I read EVERY SINGLE WORD repeatedly to take my mind off the feeling!
I have a "Z" shape scar on my hand now and there are stitches under the skin holding my tendon together that will be there forever. Took ages to get full strength back. I remember when typing my middle finger was just "slow" compared to the other fingers. And on VERY cold days I get a bit of a pain in the area. The splint thing was ok. And the physio treatment was pretty useful too.
Wasn't allowed to drive for 8 weeks though. Fear was that if I jarred it accidentally it would rip the stitches before they were fully healed. At the time I had to sign some legal documents, so I had to sign with my wrong hand. Don't think they'd stand up in court if analysed!
Did it on a Friday, went to East Surrey for Triage. (Local to work) Was then booked to go to St Georges (my local) on Saturday morning, but when I got there they said "We've had a busy night so come back Sunday
" and they did it under a local. (I took a photo of my hand all opened up after asking the Surgeon if I could. Happy to post if people want ) I remember they said 20mins. They tourniquet'ed my bicep area. The pins and needles were horrific after 40mins. There was a notice board on the wall, and I read EVERY SINGLE WORD repeatedly to take my mind off the feeling!I have a "Z" shape scar on my hand now and there are stitches under the skin holding my tendon together that will be there forever. Took ages to get full strength back. I remember when typing my middle finger was just "slow" compared to the other fingers. And on VERY cold days I get a bit of a pain in the area. The splint thing was ok. And the physio treatment was pretty useful too.
Wasn't allowed to drive for 8 weeks though. Fear was that if I jarred it accidentally it would rip the stitches before they were fully healed. At the time I had to sign some legal documents, so I had to sign with my wrong hand. Don't think they'd stand up in court if analysed!
Many thanks for helpful replies.
Bit of an update. I went back to the hospital two weeks after the injury to get my stitches out and get checked over by the consultant. I then saw a physio and wasn’t massively impressed. He made up a splint out of thermoplastic and told me to keep it on for the next four weeks; what he didn’t tell me to do (and something I found out last week) was to massage the scar to reduce the chance of the scar tissue sticking to the tendon. Last week I felt my finger was really stiff, and even with the splint (which was quite loose) there was absolutely no movement in the joint. I called the hospital and that is when another physio told me I should have been massaging it. I now feel my tendon is stuck (my wound dips down in the middle and looks like it is pinched), and having gone through some physio today my instinct is that no amount of physio is going to release it.
I can’t really wait for months to see whether or not I need further surgery to release it as I am self employed and need to use my hands! I do have private medical insurance so I am tempted to book an appointment with a consultant and see what they say. The NHS have been great apart from the first physio, but I feel like I could be entering into a doom loop if I try and push for a resolution.
Bit of an update. I went back to the hospital two weeks after the injury to get my stitches out and get checked over by the consultant. I then saw a physio and wasn’t massively impressed. He made up a splint out of thermoplastic and told me to keep it on for the next four weeks; what he didn’t tell me to do (and something I found out last week) was to massage the scar to reduce the chance of the scar tissue sticking to the tendon. Last week I felt my finger was really stiff, and even with the splint (which was quite loose) there was absolutely no movement in the joint. I called the hospital and that is when another physio told me I should have been massaging it. I now feel my tendon is stuck (my wound dips down in the middle and looks like it is pinched), and having gone through some physio today my instinct is that no amount of physio is going to release it.
I can’t really wait for months to see whether or not I need further surgery to release it as I am self employed and need to use my hands! I do have private medical insurance so I am tempted to book an appointment with a consultant and see what they say. The NHS have been great apart from the first physio, but I feel like I could be entering into a doom loop if I try and push for a resolution.
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