3-year-old girl's fingertip severed after getting caught in a supermarket glass door

On September 30th, information from the National Children's Hospital indicated that doctors in the Orthopedics Department of the hospital had successfully received and operated on a 3-year-old girl from Hanoi who was admitted with her fingertip severed after getting her hand caught in a door.

The child's family reported that while shopping with her mother at the supermarket, the child unfortunately got her hand caught in a hydraulic glass door, resulting in the complete severance of the tip of her left second finger. After receiving first aid at a local hospital, the child was quickly transferred to the National Children's Hospital for treatment.

The surgeons are operating on the child patient. Photo courtesy of the hospital.

Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang – Department of Orthopedics, National Children's Hospital – who directly performed the surgery on the child, said: The child was admitted with a wound on the second finger of the left hand, at the third phalanx, with 3/4 of the fingertip severed at the nail bed, exposing the bone.

Immediately, the doctors performed emergency surgery, treating the crushed soft tissue, repositioning the nail, and suturing the finger, thus avoiding the risk of amputation.

After surgery, the child was given antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, painkillers, and the wound dressing was changed every two days to assess the damage. After more than 10 days of treatment, the wound was dry, the child's fingertips were warm and pink, and their health was improving. The child was discharged from the hospital.

According to Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang, it's not just the above case; every year, the Orthopedics Department receives many cases of children admitted for treatment due to injuries such as nail detachment, crushed fingertips, fractured bones, and severed limbs, causing pain to the children.

Therefore, this expert advises that parents need to pay attention to their children and prevent them from playing with doors. For families with young children, parents should choose lightweight doors with hydraulic handles to ensure safety, especially in apartment buildings where drafts are very strong.

How to properly preserve severed limbs.

A limb amputation in children is a medical emergency. Therefore, proper first aid and preservation of the severed limb are crucial factors in the success of reattachment surgery and the child's recovery.

According to doctors, in the unfortunate event that a child suffers an accident resulting in a severed limb, first aid providers should preserve the severed limb by:

Step 1: Clean the severed limb with saline solution or clean water. Absolutely do not wash with soap or chemicals.

Step 2: Wrap the severed part tightly with gauze or clean cloth (be careful not to wrap it too thickly) and place it in a sealed plastic container.

Step 3: Place the box in the ice chest.

Step 4: Quickly take the child to a specialized medical facility for timely surgery.

Note: For limbs that are not completely severed but still partially attached to the skin, first aid providers should not cut them off but should gently clean the area with saline solution, place the limb in a physiological position (the limb's natural position), and cover the wound with a sterile bandage or gauze. Then, place an ice pack nearby to maintain temperature (avoid placing ice directly on the wound). Afterwards, quickly take the child to a specialized medical facility for timely surgery.

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/be-gai-3-tuoi-o-ha-noi-dut-roi-bup-ngon-tay-do-kep-vao-cua-kinh-o-sieu-thi-172240930140134067.htm