Hand Trauma

Hand trauma is any hand or wrist injury affecting the ligaments, bones, nerves, tendons, blood vessels, tissue, and skin in the fingers, wrist, and hand. Hand trauma injuries are among the top reasons patient’s visit the emergency room. The injury is usually so severe that it calls for intervention, and it may even require open or closed surgery depending on the condition.

Causes of Hand Trauma

There are different types of hand trauma with varying severity. The main ones are fractures, dislocations, deformities, burns, infections, injection injuries, cuts, amputations, and soft tissue injuries. Hand trauma could come about due to forceful impact at sporting activities, accidents in the kitchen, a fall, ageing, and occupational hazards. Most of these can be prevented by taking precautions while performing tasks. It may be as simple as learning the correct way to handle specific tools at work or wearing protective gear. Stretching and warmup exercises before an intense workout can also help avert potential hand trauma issues.

When a patient visits our plastic surgery clinic, London, to assess whether they have hand trauma, our doctor will first check for any evidence of damage by examining the injury or wound. For example, a patient who has had an encounter with fire may have some redness on the skin in the case of first-degree burns or charring for a third-degree burn. Further, the doctor will check for any numbness, pain, swelling, discolouration, or skin texture changes. All this is done to determine the patient’s urgency and the best course of action. Our doctors are well-trained and will also consider the patient’s medical history, their dominant hand, occupation, and the kind of injury. An X-Ray may also be ordered to capture the extent of the damage.

How We Treat Hand Trauma

• Severe hand trauma has to be addressed as soon as it happens to try and salvage the situation and reduce the probable effects that could come about. A patient should seek emergency medical treatment if they present worrying symptoms such as heavy bleeding, severe pain, weakness leading to complete or partial loss of motion, gaping wounds, or amputations. Different types of hand trauma will require different treatments and healing times. Some of the different forms of hand trauma and their effective treatment procedures are as highlighted below:
  • Cuts: The immediate action would be to apply pressure to stop bleeding. Any dirt or objects at the wound will be removed after the site has been cleaned. Sutures may be used if needed, and the wound is dressed. Damage to the nerves may lead to the patient losing hand sensitivity, and in such cases, nerve repair, nerve grafting, or transfer may help restore movement. A tetanus shot may also be administered.
  • Fractures or dislocation: Splinting will be used to stop the patient from moving the injured limb. Ways to fix a fracture include cannulated screw fixation, plates fixation, K-Wire fixation, Hemi Hamate fixation, and lag screw fixation.
  • Bites: Bite wounds are prone to infections, and thoroughly cleaning the injury will go a long way in preventing such from happening. Apart from attending to the wound and maybe even applying stitches, the doctor will prescribe some antibiotics and pain medication.
  • Amputations and soft tissue injuries: This may require a complete reconstruction in the affected area, and the approach will vary depending on the severity of the trauma.