Mallet Finger Surgery
Overview
If you have a mallet finger (baseball finger) you might be unable to fully straighten the tip of your finger. You may also have a painful, swollen, and/or bruised finger. Many experience this injury to the tendon in their finger while tucking in a bedsheet. A mallet finger surgery can correct the injury. You may have tried nonsurgical treatment with an unsuccessful outcome, or we may have identified bone fractures through an X-ray that needs to be repaired. Now you are interested in what mallet finger surgery entails.
How to Prepare for Mallet Finger Surgery
You won’t be able to eat the day you have surgery. You should be able to continue drinking water as normal. Just avoid drinking other beverages, like soda, juice, or milk. We may also ask that you quit taking certain medications like aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs a few days before surgery. Make sure we know what medications you take regularly.
Procedure
We repair the fracture through the use of medical devices like pins. These hold the pieces of bone together as the injury heals. If you have a damaged tendon, we may use a piece of tendon found somewhere else in your body to repair the tendon, called a tendon graft. We will fuse the new tendon in place.
Recovery
After surgery, you will wake up with a splint on your hand. This helps stabilize the finger as it heals. You will wear the splint for six to eight weeks all the time. After this period you will wear the splint at night for three to four weeks.
Efficacy
We repair the fracture allowing the finger to fully straighten.
Complications
Possible complications include infection, blood loss, and nerve damage as with any surgery.
Outlook
With proper care, you should have a full recovery and use of the injured finger.