Your fracture has healed, your initial surgery is done, but your hand still won’t move. This is one of the most frustrating experiences a patient can face. When your hand or finger feels “stuck,” “frozen,” or tethered by an invisible force, you are likely dealing with post-traumatic or post-surgical adhesions. This is a mechanical problem that no amount of exercise alone can fix.
Your fracture has healed, your initial surgery is done, but your hand still won’t move. This is one of the most frustrating experiences a patient can face. When your hand or finger feels “stuck,” “frozen,” or tethered by an invisible force, you are likely dealing with post-traumatic or post-surgical adhesions. This is a mechanical problem that no amount of exercise alone can fix.
Fortunately, a definitive solution exists. Tenolysis is a surgical procedure designed to release this internal scar tissue and set your tendons free. Simply releasing the scar tissue around the tendon is not enough. A successful tenolysis requires careful planning of which tendons to release in what order, meticulous tissue handling and cauterizing of all bleeding points to minimize post-op scarring, and careful attention to details in the wound closure to prevent the wound opening during rehabilitation. As a Harvard-trained reconstructive plastic surgeon, Dr. Rod French has the specialized expertise required to perform this delicate operation, offering you a path to finally reclaim the motion you have lost.
Think of the tendons in your hand as smooth, strong ropes that glide through tunnels, connecting your muscles to your bones to create movement. After a significant injury or surgery, your body’s natural healing process creates scar tissue. Sometimes, this scar tissue—called adhesions—can act like glue, sticking the tendon to the bone and the surrounding soft tissues. When the tendon is glued down, it can’t glide. When it can’t glide, you can’t move your finger or wrist.
Tenolysis is the meticulous surgical procedure of dissecting and removing these adhesions. The goal is simple but profound: to free the tendon and restore its smooth, gliding motion.
Tenolysis is a solution for a specific problem. You may be a candidate if:
You have already been through the long process of healing from your initial injury. The prospect of another long wait in the public system for a corrective procedure can be disheartening, all while the scar tissue can become more dense and organized as you miss out on income from lost work and loss of enjoyment of life’s activities
Choosing private care gives you timely access to a specialist who can solve this frustrating complication. It allows you to proceed with a definitive solution without unnecessary delay, putting you on the fast track to the intensive hand therapy that is critical after this procedure. It is an investment in finally completing your recovery journey and getting back to your life.
Recovery from tenolysis is unique and requires an absolute partnership between you, your surgeon, and your hand therapist.
The initial surgical recovery is quick, but the rehabilitation is intensive. You will be in hand therapy several times a week for many weeks. A return to full, unrestricted activity can take 2-3 months as you regain strength and motion.
This is one of the more painful procedures post-operatively because we do not want to immobilize anything and have it get stuck down again. Post-operative pain management with medication is carefully managed to ensure you can maintain the gains made during the surgery. The therapy to regain motion can be uncomfortable, but your therapist will guide you through it safely.
It is the most critical part of the recovery. The surgery only releases the scar tissue. Without immediate and continuous motion guided by a therapist, the scar tissue will reform, and the hand will become stiff again.
Risks are rare but include infection, nerve irritation, and the possibility of tendon rupture if therapy is too aggressive, where tenolysis is done at the site of a prior tendon repair. The main risk is the recurrence of stiffness if the post-operative therapy protocol is not followed diligently.
