A simplified technique for treating mallet fingers: tenodermodesis.

Tenodermodesis is a useful surgical procedure in cases of mallet fingers where conservative treatment has failed. The results have been satisfactory in 22 of 26 patients. These results all have been achieved within 60 days and with no more than 35 days of permanent splinting of the distal part of the digit. The final range of motion depends on the patient and on the patient's age; this procedure should not be proposed for elderly patients. The operation is not performed until 3 months after the initial trauma and until formal request from a patient who cannot tolerate this small disability. We recommend local anesthesia for this procedure. Thus with a small incision, without hospitalization, and with minimal splinting and immobilization, this procedure provides a simple treatment for a minor lesion, a principle which never should be forgotten.