[B-flat]

I had trigger fingers in both hands at various times. I saw a doctor up north and probably had 3 shots in each hand at various times. One of the last times I had a shot the doc recommended the simple surgery to correct the problem in one of the hands that did not seem to heal. I went as far as scheduling the surgery then changed my mind 2 weeks before the surgery and opted for another cortisone shot. That did it, it has been a year an no longer have trigger finger. It was worth watching and waiting.

[HelenLCSW]

Originally Posted by jimmemac

Looking for recommendations for a doctor to treat trigger finger. Thanks in advance.

Dr. Cynthia Harding

[DOGSAREKEEPERS]

Originally Posted by jimmemac

Looking for recommendations for a doctor to treat trigger finger. Thanks in advance.

I had that twice. 1st time got a shot from a Rheumathologist & it cleared.
He maintained it was like a clothesline with a knot trying to get over the pulley. With a little oiling it went over easier. Inflammation can prevent the smooth movement.

2nd time took triple strength chondroitin & glucosamine 2x per day for about 3 weeks (don't remember if it had an added ingredient) and made an appointment to see a different Rheumatologist back home. It cleared just before my appointment but I went anyway & that guy told me he would have had to send me to an Orthopedic Surgeon.

That was about 12 years ago & it hasn't been back since.

[Bethwill]

Years ago up north I had a plastic surgeon fix my trigger thumb. All better in a week. Now have had a trigger finger for a year. No longer painful thanks to not using it and wearing copper fit glove for golf. Swelling went down and if it gets caught up, I unlock it with other hand. Finger surgery seems more complicated than the thumb surgery, plus back then insurance covered it all. Not now.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

I have been to two hand surgeons. One was Dr. Cynthia Harding, she is an exceptional hand surgeon but you are going to wait probably two months, maybe longer or an appointment.

The last time I had trigger finger it was in the middle joint of the middle finger on my right hand, and I also had the accompanying node in the palm of my hand which was extremely painful. So not only did I have the nauseating triggering from the finger, I also had extreme pain from the node. I called Dr. Harding and could not get an appointment for three months. Then I was recommended to an Indian Doctor who had just started practicing here in TV, his main office is in Lake Mary. I got an immediate appointment, I did not have to wait, he had an Xray machine in the room, took Xrays and explained in detail what the problem was and suggested a shot in the joint. I was dreading the shot because the last one I had was just awful, he did an excellent job and I hardly felt it. I did need to go back for another shot about a month later, but after that I did the hand exercises he recommended and have had no trouble since. He is Dr. Vikram P. Mehta M.D., FACS. Phone 407-3334548.

As I said above, his clinic is in Lake Mary, but he has a small office building off 441N just before you get to Rte 42. I highly recommend him.

I’ve also had success using foreign doctors I’d never heard of, for various problems, such as an appendectomy.

I’d like to add one thing, however. When I was a late teenager, back in the early seventies, I worked as an Operating Room Technician (scrub nurse) at a big hospital in Denver, working the 3-11 shift while going to high school full-time as well. Most of the surgeries I scrubbed on were emergencies or surgeries that couldn’t be squeezed into the daytime schedule and needed to be done soon. A LOT of those surgeries were hand surgeries. Most were done by one or more of three board-certified hand surgeons. Some were done by general orthopedic surgeons. Occasionally a general surgeon tried one. The board-certified hand surgeons also spent quite a bit of time in the daytime correcting the mistakes of orthopedic surgeons. After watching all these doctors at work, I decided that if I ever needed serious hand surgery (apart from, say, a simple cut), I would insist on a board-certified hand surgeon. Hands are special and much more complicated than arms or legs. It’s wise to get a surgeon who has been fully trained in hands for several years and has done a difficult surgery a hundred times, rather than one who spent a nine week rotation in hand surgery during an orthopedic residency and does that surgery once a year.

Not only does the training matter, but of course some surgeons are simply much better with their tools and techniques than others. I worked with over a hundred surgeons, and definitely some were much better than others. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know which ones are best in the O.R. Unless you have a friend who works there who can say, “If I had your problem, I’d only go to this person,” it’s easier to learn a little about how long people waited in the waiting room, and when it comes to your hands, that’s not really what mattered. But again, I’m so glad your shot and physical therapy worked.

[Krainerts]

Dr. Carl Ollivierre in Lake Sumter

[dsettl]

Dr. Cynthia Harding 352 751 0981 Fixed Mine in one visit.

[jmpalladino]

Originally Posted by jimmemac

Looking for recommendations for a doctor to treat trigger finger. Thanks in advance.

Give up your guns! (Haha!)

[Clarkee]

Dr. Cynthia Harding. Off of 441 near Home Depot.

[Rich42]

I was also treated by Dr. Harding and her reputation for the best hand doctor in the Villages is well earned. Only problem is, you have to take a cot and your next two meals with you to the waiting room!

[angloam]

Dr Cynthia Harding is the best hand surgeon.
SIMED
352-751-0981

[Alicia]

Dr. Mathias Ufhealth Orthopedics he does the injections or the surgery dependent on your needs. He is a hand surgeon.

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Linnberg

Cynthia Harding gave me a (very painful) shot in my trigger finger about 4 years ago and I never had any issues after that. She is fantastic BUT very difficult to gat an appointment being the best out there.

Another vote for Dr Harding! I took a fall and turned my hand into a pound of ground meat in a nanosecond.... Awesome treatment at The Villages Hospital ER by a PA who put the basic pieces back together, and they would not let me leave until they had arranged for me to see Dr Harding within 24 hours. It took some doing, but she gave me a functional hand back!

Yes, I agree: To get the best, you have to wait (if it's not an emergency). It's not so much that it's difficult to get an appointment but rather that it'll be a long wait. I suggest making the soonest appointment available and then calling regularly to see if there's been a cancellation. I had once recommended her to a neighbor who cringed at the thought of having to put up with I can't remember exactly what for so long. He followed the suggestion of checking virtually daily and turned his nearly three month wait into three weeks! It's worth a try. All the best....

[Ingrid4]

Please check in you tube for exercises for trigger finger. I did and it helped w/o doctors involved

[rmd2]

Originally Posted by jimmemac

Looking for recommendations for a doctor to treat trigger finger. Thanks in advance.

I had it this past year and finally had to have surgery to cut one of the bands that holds the tendon in place. I had it done in Orlando. Had bandages on my right hand for 3-4 days and then it was ok to use my hand again. Stitches were out 6 days later. Everything is fine now. I went to Dr. Patrick Emerson of the Jewett Clinic but there are many good hand specialists in the Orlando area.
ps I had gone to Dr. Harding first and got the most painful shot I have EVER had. It did not help. Her office was not clean and she has her dogs in the office. I would not go there again. When I went to Orlando they did try the cortisone shot twice. The pain getting the same shot from there was minimal and was NOTHING like the pain I had from Dr. Harding.