Trigger finger following partial flexor tendon laceration: Magnetic resonance imaging-assisted diagnosis

Abstract

Introduction Post-traumatic trigger finger is considerably rarer than normal trigger finger. The diagnosis is usually made on a clinical basis. This can be obscured; however, by concurrent pathological conditions. We report a case of post-traumatic trigger finger in which diagnosis was aided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Presentation of case Our patient is a 32-year-old male who had a previous laceration with a subsequent surgery for infectious tenosynovitis. The MRI showed the impinging tendon tag. Surgical excision of the tag successfully solved the case. Discussion The use of imaging studies for the diagnosis of post-traumatic trigger finger has been previously reported, the authors described a variation on the contour of the pulley system. The full lacerated tendon tag can be seen on our patient's MRI. Conclusion On this case, the use of MRI was a useful aid for the differential diagnosis of post-traumattic trigger finger.