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Tendon Repair
Your Procedure
You have had a Flexor or Extensor Tendon Repair.
What to Expect
You should expect to feel a bit of pain for the first two days. After this, your pain should significantly improve. You will have limited use of the hand for 6 weeks and will require hand therapy. Sometimes more than just the injured finger is splinted - even though some fingers may not have had cut tendons, they all attach to the same muscles, so all may require splinting.
Surgical Site Care
Keep the dressing intact. There is a cast under the bandage and it is designed to keep your hand in a specific position. The wound needs to be kept clean and dry. Do not remove the cast or splint.
When the incision is closed and your stitches are removed, you can start to massage your scar.
Dressings are placed loosely in the operating room. After surgery swelling can result in the dressing feeling tight. If the dressing is uncomfortably tight or feels as if there is a pressure point, then you should call the office to have the dressing assessed.
Activity and Care at Home
You need to keep your splint on and not remove it or use your fingers until directed by either your surgeon or hand therapist.
Attending hand therapy is a crucial part of your postoperative care. It is vital that you follow their instructions fully in order to achieve the best result possible.
It is not possible to achieve a good result without full cooperation with hand therapy and compliance with the use of the splint. Not following instructions increases the chance of tendon rupture as well as stiffness.
Medications and Pain Management
You will have freezing that lasts 1-8 hours that helps with your pain control. It is important that you not use the hand during this time. When the freezing wears off, you may feel tingling in your fingers. To manage pain, take Ibuprofen (Advil) and plain Tylenol every 6 hours for the first 48 hours. If that is not sufficient, then take the prescription medication. Do not take more Tylenol or ibuprofen than is recommended on the bottle in 24 hours. You can refer to the pain management handout. Generally, you will have pain for 24-48 hours then it should decrease significantly. A cool gel pack may also help with the swelling.
You should keep your hand elevated about the level of your heart. Slings are not needed.
What to watch for / when to call / who to call
If any of the following occur, please call the office:
Increasing pain rather than decreasing pain.
Increased swelling or redness around the wound.
Fever and chills.
Foul odour and/or increased drainage from incisions.
Excessive bleeding that is not controlled with pressure.
If your finger is all of a sudden straight when it was flexed (bent) before this may signify a tendon rupture. Please call the office that day.
Follow-up
Your first follow-up appointment will be planned 1-2 weeks from surgery. You can expect to have your surgical sites checked and your splint changed. Depending on your initial injury and operation, you may be allowed out of your new splint a few times per day to perform exercises or you may need continuous immobilization for a further few weeks.
You may have a referral to hand therapy. If you do, contact them as soon as possible.