Fingertip amputation can occur due to severe injuries or medical conditions like bone infections, gangrene, or frostbite. Reattachment surgery is complicated and may result in less function and sensation. Immediate medical attention is necessary, and the severed fingertip should be taken to the emergency room. In some cases, physical therapy may be helpful.
A fingertip amputation is usually the result of an injury severe enough to sever the fingertip. In some cases, a finger might be amputated in a doctor’s office due to an injury or other condition, such as a bone infection, gangrene, or frostbite. Sometimes an injury that resulted in a fingertip amputation can be corrected if the severed fingertip is brought to the doctor’s office shortly after the injury occurred. Even though the fingertips may occasionally be surgically reattached, there’s a good chance a person will have less function and sensation in the finger than they did before.
Injuries that are traumatic enough to sever a finger typically include things like slamming doors, accidents involving lawn equipment, and the use of knives. An accident involving fingertip amputation requires immediate medical attention, and the severed fingertip should be found and taken with you to the emergency room if possible. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a good idea to place your severed fingertip directly on ice, because this could cause further damage to your fingertip. It is generally acceptable to place your fingertip inside an airtight bag, however, at which point the bag can be placed on ice.
When a person goes to the emergency room with a fingertip amputation, a doctor will likely examine the extent of the injury and ask questions about how it happened before deciding if the fingertip can be reattached. An anesthetic will likely be injected into the finger to stop the pain, and x-rays may be taken to check for bone damage in the fingers. Reattaching a fingertip tends to be a very time-consuming and complicated surgical procedure, and if only a small portion of the fingertip has been cut, a doctor may decide to simply stitch the skin together and let it heal over time. Surgical reattachment tends to be much more successful in young children than in adults.
Fingertip amputation is occasionally necessary when a person has a problem such as frostbite, gangrene, or some type of bone infection. In cases like these, it is usually not possible to reattach the fingertip. A person who has a cut off fingertip can experience problems such as pain and temporary loss of sensation for up to a year. In some cases, these problems last indefinitely. Physical therapy might be helpful for a person who has lost their fingertip, but might not be necessary if the amputation wasn’t incredibly bad.
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