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

On September 30, information from the National Children's Hospital said that recently, doctors of the hospital's Orthopedic Department received and successfully performed surgery on a 3-year-old girl in Hanoi who was admitted to the hospital with her fingertip severed due to being caught in a door.

The patient’s family said that while going to the supermarket with his mother, the child unfortunately got his hand caught in a hydraulic glass door and had his left second finger severed. After receiving first aid at the local hospital, the child was quickly transferred to the National Children’s Hospital for treatment.

Surgeons perform surgery on a pediatric patient. Photo: BVCC.

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

Immediately, the doctors performed emergency surgery, treated the crushed soft area, repositioned the nail, and sutured the finger, thereby avoiding the risk of having to amputate the child's finger.

After surgery, the child was given antibiotics, anti-edema, pain relievers, and wound dressings were 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, and his health was improving. The child was discharged from the hospital.

According to Dr. Nguyen Vu Hoang, not only the above case, every year, the Orthopedic Department receives many cases of children being hospitalized for treatment due to their hands being caught in doors, causing hand injuries such as nail loss, crushed finger buds, broken bones, severed fingers... causing pain to the children.

Therefore, this expert recommends that parents should 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

Accidents that cause amputation of limbs in children are medical emergencies. Therefore, first aid and proper care of amputated limbs are decisive factors for the success of limb reattachment surgery 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 aid person 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 and place an ice pack next to it to keep it warm (avoid placing ice directly on the wound). Then 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