Trigger finger in children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Orthopedics
• Hand Surgery
• Pediatric Hand Surgery

Background:

• Trigger digits are a common pediatric surgical issue.
• Trigger fingers represent a smaller subset of pediatric trigger digits.
• Surgical outcomes for pediatric trigger fingers can be variable.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the surgical treatment of pediatric trigger fingers.
• To identify factors contributing to treatment failures.
• To evaluate the efficacy of A-1 pulley release in pediatric trigger fingers.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of pediatric patients undergoing surgery for trigger digits over 10 years.
• Specific analysis of patients treated for trigger fingers.
• Assessment of surgical techniques and outcomes, including A-1 pulley release.

Main Results:

• Trigger fingers constituted 14% of pediatric trigger digits treated surgically.
• 44% of pediatric trigger fingers continued to trigger after A-1 pulley release.
• Pediatric trigger fingers demonstrated different characteristics and treatment responses compared to trigger thumbs.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric trigger fingers are distinct from trigger thumbs and present unique challenges.
• A-1 pulley release alone is often insufficient for pediatric trigger fingers.
• Additional surgical procedures, such as sublimis tendon resection or A-3 pulley release, may be necessary for successful outcomes.