Trigger Finger Treatment and Release Surgery

Trigger finger (stenosing tenosynovitis) happens when the tendon that bends your finger no longer glides smoothly through its tunnel at the base of the finger. The tendon thickens, or its tunnel tightens, and the tendon catches as it passes, producing the click, the catch, and eventually the lock. The tender nodule many patients feel in the palm is the thickened tendon itself.

It's more common in people with diabetes, after repetitive gripping, and in the thumb and ring finger, and it can affect several fingers over time. It isn't arthritis, and it doesn't damage the joint; it's mechanical, which is exactly why treatment works so well.

Steroid injection into the tendon tunnel is the standard first treatment: quick, done at your consultation, and it resolves the majority of early cases, though it can take a few weeks to work fully and sometimes needs repeating. It's less reliable in diabetes and long-established locking, and we'll be honest about your odds.

Release surgery divides the tight mouth of the tunnel (the A1 pulley) so the tendon glides freely again: 15 to 20 minutes under local anaesthetic, a small incision in the palm, and a permanent fix in almost all cases. It's the right answer when injections have failed or worn off, or when a finger locks hard.

Apex Medical was founded by Mr Kuen Yeow Chin, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Plastic Surgery at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. Hand surgery, including trigger finger release, is one of his defining specialisms, and he is a member of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH).

Your consultation, your procedure and your follow-up are with the same consultant throughout: the surgeon who assesses your hand is the surgeon who treats it.

Diagnosis is clinical and usually immediate; no scans needed in typical cases.

If the ladder starts there, you leave treated.

A short palm incision under local anaesthetic; you'll often be asked to bend the finger on the table to prove the click has gone before closure.

Move the finger from day one; light dressing for a few days; stitches out around 10 to 14 days; palm tenderness fades over a few weeks.

Desk work within days; grip-heavy work usually 2 to 4 weeks; the click, gone for good.

Move the finger early and often; that's the single most useful instruction, and it starts on day one. The light dressing comes off within days, stitches come out around 10 to 14 days, and palm tenderness fades over a few weeks with simple scar massage once the wound is healed. Desk work resumes within days; grip-heavy work rebuilds over two to four weeks. The click, once released, is gone for good.

If another finger begins clicking later, and in some hands they do, you'll recognise the signs early. Earlier is easier: injections work best at the click stage, and you'll know exactly where to come.

Apex Medical is based at Berkshire Grove Hospital in Maidenhead, with clinics also at the Parkside Suite. Patients travel to us from Reading, Windsor, Slough, Marlow, Bracknell, London and across Berkshire, Surrey and Oxfordshire for consultant-led care in a regulated private hospital, without long waiting times. On-site parking is available.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm · Saturday by appointment only · Sunday closed
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Common questions about Trigger Finger at Apex Medical