Girl's finger stuck in door, hospitalized with severed finger

Doctors at the National Children's Hospital reconnected the child's finger buds - Photo: Provided by the hospital

The patient's family said that before being admitted to the hospital, the child and his mother went to the supermarket and unfortunately got their hand stuck in a hydraulic glass door and had their left fingertip severed.

After receiving first aid at the local hospital, the child was quickly transferred to the National Children's Hospital for treatment.

Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang - Orthopedic Department, National Children's Hospital - who directly performed surgery on the patient said that the child was admitted to the hospital with a wound on the second finger of his left hand, at the third phalanx, with 3/4 of the fingertip severed, exposing the bone.

Doctors performed emergency surgery in time, treated the crushed soft area, re-placed the nail, and sutured the finger, thereby avoiding the risk of having to amputate the child's finger.

After surgery, the child is given antibiotics, anti-edema, pain relievers, and wound dressings are changed every 2 days to assess the damage.

After more than 10 days of treatment, the wound was dry, the child's fingertips were warm and pink, his health improved, and he was discharged from the hospital.

Dr. Hoang added that every year the hospital receives many cases of children being treated for getting their hands caught in doors, causing injuries such as nail loss, crushed finger buds, broken bones, severed fingers, etc., causing pain to the children.

Parents need to pay attention to their children and avoid letting them play with the doors. For families with small children, parents should choose light doors with hydraulic handles to ensure safety, especially in apartments, because the wind is very strong.

How to properly preserve severed limbs

Dr. Hoang said that an accident that causes a severed limb in a child is an emergency. Therefore, first aid and proper preservation of the severed limb are decisive factors for the success of the surgery to reattach the severed limb as well as the child's ability to recover.

According to doctors, in case a child unfortunately has an accident that causes a limb to be severed, the first aid person needs to preserve the severed limb by:

Step 1: Wash the severed limb with saline or clean water. Never wash with soap or chemicals.

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

Step 3: Place the box in the ice box.

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

Note: For limbs that are not completely severed but are still partially attached to the skin, the first aider should not cut them off but should gently wash them with saline. Place the limb in a physiological position (the natural position of the limb) and use a pressure bandage or sterile gauze to cover the wound.

Then, place an ice pack next to the wound to keep it warm (avoid placing ice directly on the wound) and quickly take the child to a specialized medical facility for timely surgery.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ket-tay-vao-cua-be-gai-nhap-vien-voi-bup-ngon-tay-bi-dut-lia-2024100110475595.htm