Organisational capabilities, outcomes, and benefits of trigger finger release surgery in primary care: a service evaluation study

Trigger finger is a common hand condition in which a finger is unable to fully extend owing to a thickening of the tendon and its sheath, causing the finger to lock in a bent position. To assess the viability of carrying out trigger finger surgeries in NHS primary care in terms of clinician and patient acceptance, experience, and outcomes; and operational requirements of this service for wider application. A pilot study for a new service in primary care in Leicestershire, UK. A total of 214 trigger finger release surgery procedures were carried out between 22 August 2019 and 25 October 2022 by a single hand surgeon in a single primary care surgery. Data were analysed using information from SystmOne, which is a patient database linked with the NHS. Thirty-two cases out of 214 (15.0%) experienced a wait time of