Modified Acupotomy versus Percutaneous Release for Trigger Thumb: A Retrospective Study

Acupotomy is now increasingly used for trigger thumb, while recent evidence showed it increased the risk of nerve injury. Based on the close proximity of the neurovascular bundles and the A1 pulley, we designed a modified acupotomy. Given that percutaneous release is the common surgical treatment, this retrospective study aimed to compare the effect and safety of modified acupotomy versus percutaneous release for trigger thumb.

This is a retrospective study. All patients with trigger thumb were retrieved in the electronic records of the Department of Pain Medicine at the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2016 to September 2018. Both short-term (3 months) and long-term (2 years) outcomes were evaluated using the criteria established through Gilberts et al.'s questionnaire, including triggering, residual pain, stiffness, digital nerve injury, scar, infection and satisfaction. Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare differences between two groups.

A total of 305 patients with 334 trigger thumbs treated with either modified acupotomy (n = 194 thumbs) or percutaneous release (n = 140 thumbs) were included. Of them, 221 (72.5%) were female, and the mean age was 56.2 ± 10.0 years. The mean duration of trigger thumb lasted for 7.5 ± 3.6 months. At 3 months, all triggering were alleviated by both therapies. Although more digital nerve injury occurred in the percutaneous release (0 [0%] thumbs vs 5 [3.6%] thumbs, P = 0.012), more residual pain (30 [15.5%] thumbs vs 6 [4.3%] thumbs; rate ratio, 3.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.54-8.43; P = 0.001) and less satisfaction occurred in the modified acupotomy group. At 2 years, more recurrent triggering, residual pain and digital nerve injury occurred in the percutaneous release group (2 [1.0%] thumbs vs 12 [8.6%] thumbs; rate ratio, 0.12; 95% CI: 0.03-0.53; P = 0.001; 9 [4.6%] thumbs vs 22 [15.7%] thumbs; rate ratio, 0.30; 95% CI: 0.14-0.62 P < 0.001; 0 [0%] thumbs vs 4 [2.9%] thumbs, P = 0.030, respectively). Moreover, satisfaction was significantly better in the modified acupotomy group.

The modified acupotomy had better long-term outcomes and satisfaction than the percutaneous release for trigger thumb, although percutaneous release has less residual pain and better satisfaction in the short term. The modified acupotomy is a treatment option for trigger thumb.