Finger surgery

Community Hub šŸ—Ø Just Chatting
1

Hi all,
Iā€™m about to have dupuytrens-contracture-surgery on my left hand pinky, my fretting hand, any advice please after surgery to help getting use of it back?
My surgeon tells me I may not be too happy after surgery as it may be stiff, hoping that isnā€™t the case but wondered if anyone else has experience of this and has some advice as to how to get it working again.
Hereā€™s hoping it works again in the future !!

2

Hey Peter,
Best wishes and hope the surgery goes really well!
Maybe Mike @WonderMonkey might have some tips?
(Hope you donā€™t mind me making that suggestion, Mike)

1 Like
3

Hi Peter, no experiences with that, but I hope everything goes well and you get your abilities back soon! :tulip:
Must be very hard.

4

Nothing I can offer about the specifics, Peter, just wish you well for successful surgery and a smooth recovery to get back to good health and full functionality.

5

Iā€™m typing now!

6

Scroll below for a photo of my post-op surgery. Since this is a thread about this, I feel ok posting it.

I had this surgery on the 21st of September, and Iā€™ve started to play guitar again, but with a few restrictions. My condition was in the ringer finger, and it, of course, caused tightness in my middle and ring finger.

The restrictions are that I acknowledge my hand was gutted, but playing guitar is actually good therapy. The stretching routine you will be given as part of your therapy should turn into what you do as part of your warm-up each time you play. If you are not given a stretching plan, ask for one. If you donā€™t like what they give you, I will give you mine. Many here will recognize most of the stretches as they are used pre-playing. I tore some of my stitches out during my stretching routine, but this is not uncommon. Part of the incision is across the palm in one of the creases. The surgeon did not put any stitches back in, nor use dura-bond on it. We put an oily mesh thing over the top of it and the rest of the incision, wrap it up, and call it a day. Obviously, I keep it clean and all that.

I was able to pick up the guitar and run through things one week after my surgery. I could have done it five days after, but I didnā€™t. Iā€™ll put the ā€œrestrictionsā€ below.

  • Due to the trauma that your hand just went through, if you try to push your playing time, effort, or speed, you not be allowing everything to heal. Moreso than just a person picking the guitar up for the first time, you need to start small and work your way up. Scar tissue is NOT your friend, and the process to get rid of that later is not what you want.

  • You will most likely have some numbness at the end of your finger that will be VERY SLOW to go away. Your finger will feel stupid and clumsy, but thatā€™s the way it is.

So ā€¦ do those stretches even if you feel your stitches coming out. Shift your playing focus to some detailed things like theory. I was given the suggestion to work on right-hand things like strumming or finger-picking over open strings, or now just chords.

Day After Surgery Photo Below
CLICK ARROW TO OPEN

Summary

media
media748Ɨ998 84.8 KB

6 Likes
7

I donā€™t mind at all! Maybe I should do a larger write-up for those that are searching for it? Either itā€™s showing up or surgery?

1 Like
8

Hey Peter, hope you recovery quickly, all the best!

9

Good luck with the surgery! Hope your finger recovers well!

10

Good luck and healthy, fast recovery! Donā€™t worry about a little numbness at the finger tip. My left index and middle tips have been numb for 35 years. If anything, it helps!

11

Hi Mate and Fellow Duputreyneā€™s Sufferer. Iā€™m up to 5 ops now on both hands over the past 10 - 15 years or so. Youā€™ll be aware of the stiffness by now. All I can say is keep using the splint at night, and massaging the hand frequently as the hospital will no doubt say. Also work on the exercises including gripping and ā€˜throwingā€™ the fingers out to a stretch (when it is safe to do so which is after the stitches are out). I think I was pretty much back to normal after about 4 - 6 weeks. The feeling takes a little longer but rest assured it does come back. Youā€™ll look back when you are back on the fret board and wonder ā€˜what was that all aboutā€™!

Donā€™t lose heart mate. Reach out to me if you feel a need.

Best wishes

Adey

12

Hi,Adey,
Thanks for your concern and advice will be in touch if I need help.
Thanks again Peter.

13

Thanks for your good wishes, Peter

14

Thanks, Peter.

15

Thank you so much for your reply , help and advice, regards, Peter.

16

Thanks for your thoughts, Peter.

17

Doctorā€™s are different but I was doing those exercises after just a week. And sure enough, I tore some stitches. They were ok with it, though, as long as I wore my bandages and kept things clean.

18

Hi all,
Thank you so much for all your good wishes and thoughts.
Iā€™ve had the surgery and now almost 4 weeks down the recovery road things are going ok, movement is still limited owing to the natural occurring ā€˜scabsā€™ over the surgery scars being slow to come off but that will happen in its own good time.
These stop me from curling my finger in towards my palm but Iā€™ve good movement and good feeling.
Back to see the consultant tomorrow for further examination and hopefully discharge.
Thanks, again, Peter.

1 Like
19

Hi Peter, wish you a speedy recovery, hope, that the doctor will have good news tomorrow. My best wishes that youā€™re coming back to the guitar soon!

20

Hope thinks keep healing quickly Peter. Guitar should be good therapy when your ready.