The "Quicker on the Draw" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Laying on the operating table at the Surgery Center of Lancaster talking with my surgeon,  Dr. Kuntz.  Nothing unusual except that he is operating on me at the time.  Talking about coaching the rifle team at the high school where I taught school.  He was questioning me about the type of rifles we were using and was amazed that we actually used live ammunition in a high school.  "You have to remember that was over 40 years ago," I told him.  Then I felt a few tugs on my hand and he said, "That's it.  All we have to do now is put a dressing on it."  The "it" was my pinky finger on my right hand which he was operating on for "trigger finger."  If you haven't heard of that before ... trigger finger results from a discrepancy between the size of the tendon and the size of the entrance to the tendon sheath.  This discrepancy can be the result of localized inflammation or a nodular swelling on the tendon itself.  When the size between the tendon and the tendon sheath reaches a critical point, the tendon will experience resistance from the tendon sheath.  At first, this is felt as a snapping of the trigger finger when relaxing a fist.  If the condition worsens, the trigger finger many need applied pressure from other fingers to straighten, or may not straighten at all.  

The stitches will be removed in another
week.  If you are considering the surgery,
it is a simple procedure with minimal pain.
I can now open the finger without pain.

My pinky finger on my right hand would no longer open unless I grabbed it and physically opened it.  And, OUCH!  Well, I went to visit Dr. Kuntz and he agreed I need to have it surgically repaired which is what he is putting the finishing touches on right now.  About 10 years ago I went through the same thing with my right thumb and a few years ago I had my middle two fingers repaired.  My thumb was done with a local anesthetic while my middle fingers were done with a general anesthetic.  I asked Dr. Kuntz if he could go the local route this time to reduce the recovery time and he agreed.  All I asked of him was that he didn't tell me what he was doing, just do it.  So, we talked about sports, our families, ... and in no time he was done.  Wrapped a bandage around my hand which held a piece of gauze over the incision.  After I was taken to the recovery room my wife was called back to see me.  She walked into the recovery room as Dr. Kuntz was talking with me.  She happened to have a rather large novel in her hand and when she saw the doctor looking at it she said, "I thought the operation would last longer."  He replied, "Yeah, that book would have been good for brain surgery."  A nurse checked my blood pressure while Dr. Kuntz talked with Carol and I.  He is a very personable doctor with great bedside manners.  He gave me instructions as to what to do and said he'll see me in ten days to remove the stitches.  Five days later I removed the bandage and was able to bathe once again without a bag over my hand.  Trigger finger surgery is a fairly easy operation and there is no reason to have to go through the pain associated with trigger finger.  The only thing you can't do is have a trigger finger repaired on both hands at the same time.  Tough to use the toilet with both hands covered with gauze.  Don't put off the surgery any longer if you have this affliction.  It is simple and fairly painless.  After having it three times, I should know.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.