Trigger digit release: rates of surgery and complications as indicated by a United States Medicare database.

A United States insurance database was examined for trigger digit release using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision diagnoses and procedures or Current Procedural Terminology codes. Complications after trigger digit release, including stiffness, infection and revision surgery, were assessed. A total of 209,634 patients who underwent trigger digit release were included. The rate of trigger digit release increased significantly from 2005 to 2012, with the middle finger the most frequently released. The rate of postoperative stiffness was low, ranging from 0.8% to 1.6% depending on the operated digit. The rate of postoperative infection was lower, ranging from 0.5% to 0.6%. The need for revision within 3 years of initial trigger digit release was also low, ranging from 0.3% to 0.8%. Complications, including infection, stiffness and revision surgery, occur infrequently, but certain factors, including diabetes, Dupuytren's disease, smoking, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity and age, increase risk. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III, Retrospective comparative study.