injuries and poisoning
Finger Fractures
Treatment of Finger Fractures
A protective covering For a large subungual hematoma, possibly drainage of the blood from underneath the nail For severe fractures, surgery For most fingertip fractures, doctors wrap the fingertip with a protective covering (such as an aluminum and foam splint). People wear this covering for about 2 weeks. For large subungual hematomas, doctors may make a small hole in the fingernail with a needle or a hot wire (electrocautery device) and drain the blood out (called trephination). This procedure cannot be done if nail polish is present. Usually, the procedure takes only a few seconds, and drugs to prevent pain are not needed. For severe finger fractures, surgery is done to realign the many, separated pieces of broken bone. If the nail is severely injured, the nail is usually removed. Then tears of the nail bed can be repaired. The finger is wrapped in a dressing to protect the nail bed. However, for most finger fractures, nail removal is not necessary. 