UC Davis

Patients undergoing trigger release surgery are known to be at increased risk of amyloidosis and heart failure, and therefore, amyloidosis screening during trigger release surgery may facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of cardiac amyloidosis. However, the reported prevalence of amyloid on biopsies taken during trigger release surgery has varied widely, and no biopsy-positive patients in prior studies have been diagnosed with occult cardiac amyloidosis or started on disease-modifying therapy. We review the existing literature on this topic and present a case of a patient with cardiac amyloidosis diagnosed from a biopsy taken during trigger release surgery and subsequently started on disease-modifying therapy. This case supports the potential role of amyloidosis screening during trigger release and highlights the benefits of collaboration between hand surgeons and amyloidosis specialists in multidisciplinary amyloidosis programs.