Most people recover from a mallet finger injury and regain full or near-full use of their finger without surgery. Patients that night splint for 1 month after 6-8 weeks of continuous splinting for a mallet injury have the same extensor lag 4 months after initiating treatment as patients that do not perform night splinting. << << Most mallet finger injuries are treated with splinting. DO NOT let your finger go unsupported! Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 5. The goal is to keep the finger straight at the small joint until it is fully healed. 0000005843 00000 n If the fingertip droops at all, healing is disrupted and you will need to wear the splint for a longer period of time. This is called an avulsion injury. Then there is a tendinous mallet finger. Kamal RN, Gire JD. If you prefer reading then lets get to it. It also will not allow for accurate bone healing. 0000005019 00000 n Surgery to repair a mallet finger is an outpatient procedure, usually performed under local or regional anesthesia (with sedation if needed). X Your hand surgeon will help recommend the proper treatment that is specific to you. Keep in mind, tendinous mallet fingers can result in a little bit of a droop even after splinting is done. Don't ignore a droopy finger. All you need to know about "Mallet Finger 0000172262 00000 n By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Because there is nothing else pulling the finger straight, the finger droops down. An open mallet finger starts with a sharp cut or laceration, which goes through the tendon and down to the bone, over the last joint of the finger. These types of injuries put you at risk for infection. Most doctors recommend seeking treatment within a week of injury. Even though you may be in the right position from the start, there can be a lot of reasons why you may not STAY in the correct position. Its that you can go weeks and weeks treating your finger, AND it can still droop! endobj Mallet finger is a common condition, especially with athletes. The splint is then worn for shorter periods that include nighttime splinting for six more weeks. Most can be completely treated with non-removable finger splinting until the tendon heals itself or the bone seals the fracture.If theres no cut or laceration, a cold treatment (ice) can be applied to bring down the swelling. >> /Type /Catalog 8s1B Wgz4jA*u,9lh u cB} fm6cv\IER sz; z4,9r=Y-8 -1*:K0s5j\ Occasionally, blood collects beneath the nail. %%EOF He received his MD from the Medical University of the Americas in 2012 and completed his residency in Family Medicine at the Robert Packer Hospital. Sometimes, blood can collect underneath the nail. He is a member of the American Board of Family Medicine. hb```c``me`e`ned@ A+I@Zdjvd5AR@ bV`mH@ YV000`mHlzg;;D./=-T)asiK/Me8 3C.H310pf0|ro0 -^
