Finger Update

I completley forgot to update everyone on Art's finger. Last December, what looked like a blister started forming on one of the incision lines on his finger. It kept getting larger and more red and while the physical therapist and I urged him to back to the doctor (considering he never went back for his one month post-op) but he refused. I told him to go while the deductible was met, but he still refused, saying that all the doctor would do is look at it and schedule him for more surgery (because they do nonsensical surgeries on blisters all the time). Eventually it popped and, as Art describes it, fluid and something similar to ground beef came out of it. Again he refused to go to the doctor. It healed over fine, but in the last two weeks it has started forming again. Art was the one to say, "I think I should go to the doctor" this time, and because I'm such a wonderful wife, I reminded him that he should have gone when I told him to so I didn't want to hear any complaining about the bill. We went to the doctor last week and he took a look at it, commented that he had never seen something like that and didn't really know what to do. What he thinks happened is that the skin got confused when it was healing and formed outside skin on the inside. Or perhaps a little cyst had formed around one of the permanent sutures in the tendon. Either way, he didn't feel it was necessary to do anything about it unless it became painful. It was just what Art wanted to hear (that and, because the doctor didn't do anything, there was no charge for the visit). So we just have to keep an eye on it.

The doctor was disappointed in the lack of movement in the last joint of Art's little finger. Through all the physical therapy he was never able to regain any movement in the tip. The doctor did say he could go back in and do another surgery to try and fix it, but 10% of people get worse, 10% of people's tendon ends up rupturing and need another surgery to fix that, but 80% of people get some or most of the movement back in the end of their finger. Art said it really didn't matter to him and the doctor said as long as it didn't seem to hamper him it was best to leave well enough alone.

So there you go, sorry I forgot about it until tonight.