Ligament Injuries around the Thumb & Fingers

The most common ligament injury around the thumb and fingers involves that of an injury at the metacarpal phalangeal joint. This is often called skier's thumb in which the patient falls on the thumb causing a rupture of the ulnar collateral ligament. It is important to make this diagnosis early in the evaluation of a patient. Often, if the diagnosis is not made or there is a delay, then primary repair of the respective ligament cannot be done. This would then necessitate the utilization of a tendon graft to reconstruct the respective ligamentous structures. Postoperatively, again, the patient is immobilized for approximately 6 weeks, often with a pin transfixing the joint to stabilize the joint and protect the repair. Subsequent to the removal of pin in the 6 week time period, therapy is again initiated in an effort to regain maximal function.