Flexor tendon repair 2 years on
I got flexor tendon repair surgery 2 years ago (aged 23) on my right pinky and ring fingers.
Injury / surgery / recovery details:
Injury: FDS and FDP tendons severed in pinky and ring fingers at PIP joint on right (dominant) hand
Surgery: plastic surgery, FDS and FDP repaired in ring finger, FDP only repaired in pinky, a2 and a4 pulleys vented
Recovery:
• cast for 3 days
• physio from day 3 to 12 weeks post op (exercises and massages, I was very diligent with my routine)
• splint from day 3 and phased out by week 8
• week 5: additional splint for just the fingers to wear overnight to help extension
My recovery went really well according to my PT, thankfully I had a really good surgeon (UK, NHS) and I had age on my side in terms of healing. I would say, 2 years on, that my hand function is about 85% of what it was originally. The fingers are still slightly bent to this day but it's unnoticeable to anyone other than myself.
NB. please remember that no two people experience the same recovery, there are so many variables involved that determine the outcome
What 85% hand function looks like:
I can pretty much do everything in my day to day without any issues, however I would say that the slight disfunction is very noticeable.
In terms of grip, I struggle gripping things for extended periods and with repeated gripping and un-gripping. For example, if I'm holding a mug for too long those fingers tend to complain. I used to work in a cafe and had to avoid holding mugs in my right hand when washing up because gripping the handles on and off made the fingers fatigued almost. Another example is if I'm plaiting my hair the repeated gripping and ungripping causes the same issue.
I don't have much fine grip anymore which causes me to drop things that I wouldn't have previously; I do a lot of embroidery and I drop the needle frequently or struggle pulling the thread through since my fine grip isn't there.
When it comes to extension of those fingers, I've only experienced discomfort / pain when holding a stack of heavy plates that really puts stress on the tendons. Another noticeable difference is when using the mouse pad on my laptop, the pinky and ring finger aren't really used to scroll so they kinda stay in an extended position and I have to make a fist and wiggle them to get them to wake up almost.
There have been a couple of occasions where I have felt a pop in my ring finger and have put that down to scar tissue pulling away / tearing since the movement of my finger had not been affected. I stopped with physio and massages at 12 weeks post op, I'm sure if I continued with those that it'd be beneficial.
Lastly, I have yet to return to the gym, I'm not sure whether it's because I don't trust my grip or the thought of possibly rupturing it makes me sick to the stomach. But I have seen many accounts of people returning to weights and to climbing so it shouldn't be an issue, it's just my own worries.
I hope that this helps people with recovery expectations; my PT said that I've experienced what would be the best case scenario for me based on all factors involved for me. Again, I'd like to stress that there are many variables that determine outcome. Make sure to stay on top of your physio routines! Always communicate with your PT what's working and what's not. But most of all, BE KIND TO YOURSELF! Progress can plateau and it will but that's great it means you're maintaining that level of function.