A New Medical Issue

Several months ago I was diagnosed with tendonitis in the extensor carpi ulnaris tendon of my fretting hand. It's one of several wrist tendons and it's below the little finger by the ulna bone (the one that protrudes).

It's very painful to twist my wrist to hold anything and it's painful when I play especially when making barre chords.

I've had a couple of steroid shots, tried braces and have completely stopped playing for 6-8 weeks at a time but it's not getting any better. So the doc says that surgery is the next option. The tendon has developed splits and they have to be sewn together plus cleaning up the sheath that it slides through.

Has anyone had this or a similar tendon surgery? If so, how did it go and did it work?

I'm sorry to hear of your problem, Steve-o-Reno, and can relate to it. My problem affected the same area of the left (fretting) hand, but was the fairly common condition called DuPuytren's Contracture. This causes shortening of the tendons. My left hand became almost claw-like in appearance. It was impossible to wear gloves, or to operate the clutch lever of my motorcycle. I could still play the uke, but with much difficulty.

I had corrective surgery in 2010 and it has made a wonderful difference. The scarring to the palm of my hand looked horrendous, initially but it healed well. The surgery was done under a general anaesthetic,. Recovery involved minimal pain (I was given painkillers, but didn't take them). I had some strange tingling and numbness in the fingertips, but it slowly went away. For a good outcome, it is important to take your physiotherapist's instructions very seriously. Today, my hand is perfectly normal - for an eighty-two year old. No problems at all.

Your operation will be different from mine, but is similar. It is a scary prospect, to have the palm of your hand sliced open, but surgeon's really know what they are doing. I've never had a moment's regret.

Let us know how it goes. With all best wishes.

John Colter.

Thank you John. Wow, I looked up photos of DuPuytren's Contracture and it looks incredibly painful. How long was your recovery so that you could play again? It's been really frustrating to miss so much playing time. I'm still a Spring chicken at 64 but I hate losing ground, plus playing keeps me sane and I really need my sanity these days!

I had trigger finger surgery on the middle finger of my fretting hand four years ago and it went well. It took about 6-8 weeks before it was a functional finger again and almost a year to feel completely normal. I'm sure all will go well even though this proposed surgery sounds more invasive as the pain seems to be in several locations in my wrist and arm, plus the need to sew together the splits in the tendon.

Thank you so much for the encouragement. I'll call the doctor today to discuss a possible surgery date.

DuPuytren's is not a painful condition, provided you use the "clawed" hand normally, within the limitations imposed by the contracture. If you try to straighten the fingers by force, it is impossible - and extremely painful!

Going from memory, a week after surgery I was given the go-ahead for light physio to start. I checked with my therapist, and was told that playing the ukulele was perfectly OK, but not to over-do it. So that was it. I was back to playing one week after surgery!

Your situation could be different. I believe there was no stitching of internal parts with my operation. I could be wrong, but I think it was mostly cutting away unwanted thickening of the tendons. Discuss it with your medical advisors. You'll be fine.

John Colter

Thanks John. I'll be talking with the doctor next week to discuss and schedule the surgery. It will probably be sometime next month. Im ready to do anything to get back to playing regularly. Thanks again for your input.

I also had DuPuytren and had my left hand operated on at the end of April 2019. Mine was an advanced case and required over 60 stitches. My left hand was in a split for a month as they gradually removed stitches. As John said the best advice is follow physio to the letter. I started playing uke 3 months later, if you call only being able to form a weak C chord playing. But I was motivated and worked my butt off and am now playing guitar along side ukulele. Moral of the story do what you have to do.......because if there is a will there is a way. Best of luck with whatever decision you must make.

Sixty stitches! Yeah, that's pretty serious, Dave. I had about twenty, IIRC. It was just the ring finger and the little finger.

John C