Update on the finger

I got in with the orthopedic surgeon this afternoon. It took us longer to drive to his office than for him to look at it. He said if I wanted it to heal quick he could take about 1/4 inch of bone and get enough free material to close the wound. On the other hand he said it should heal just like it is, it would just take a bit longer. The main thing is to keep it clean and change the dressing every day until it's healed. In the end it might look a little funny once healed, and I might wind up with another nail, I might not, no guarantees there. The main thing is my finger wouldn't have to be made any shorter.

I chose the longer healing time and the longer finger..... I've got a follow up in two weeks for him to check it out and insure things are going as planned. I've got the fingers on my other hand crossed.....LOL

Hello NCWayne,

I think you made the right choice. Keeping it super clean won't be easy, but if you don't we probably have to call you stumpy. With all seriousness take care. Merry Christmas to you and all your family.......

Guido.

best of luck,,,sounds like everything is going to be fine,,,good news

Glad to hear it, take good care of it!!!

My son took the same route you elected to do when he screwed up his finger several years back. It did grow out with a goofey nail, but every time he bumps the end of it, it causes him pain and he can't grasp and lift things with his finger tips any more on that hand.
Loren

I'm glad the doctor gave you the option to save the whole finger.
I worked with a guy that had lost his index finger at its middle joint. This guy would cup his chin in the palm of that hand with the stump against his nose. Looked like he had that finger way up there! LOL!!!

Get well soon!

Scott

Wise decision Wayne, Glad you went to the Doctor but, I probably would have not. I am too hard headed. Finger gets to hurting too bad , get some one to hit your toe with a hammer and that will take you mind off of it LOL... Glad you getting along ok dude. Take care and have a good Christmas.

Take it easy, let it heal.

Believe me I hadn't planned to go to the ER either. Heck it's been 10 years or so since I was forced to do that for a piece of metal off of a spike hammer that embedded itself in my finger when driving a track pi, and the wound wouldn't stop bleeding. Saddly, when I pulled the glove off last night the first thought through my head was "electrical tape and a shop rang ain't gonna' fix this", so off to the ER I went. Could have been a lot worse, so I'm just thanking God it wasn't.

I've still got to get the bucker fixed, but next time there will be an Enerpac ram in place of the bottle jack, and I'll be 6 feet away....Not gonna happen again....LOL

I've used Saran Wrap to cover a damaged hand, when taking a shower, and when working on something dirty. Cheap, so you just throw it away when done.

That's good news Wayne. If you see any sign of infection, please hustle off to the doctor. My son and you are still in my prayers.

Tom in TN

Glad things are going ok so far. You have all winter for your finger to heal. The body does some amazing things. I opened up the whole bottom of my left index finger with my chainsaw. The doctor put it back together best as possible. Now it looks like the rest of my fingers. Just a scare along the bottom. A little stiff, but works fine. Will be praying for your speedy recovery. Stan

Well, chicks do dig scars, so I'm told.

Probably coulda bought a new bucket for what you've spent with all them fancy doctors and all. Not to rub salt in that wound. BTDT

Feel better soon.

Take extra care to keep infection out of the fingers. Stuck my RT hand in a spinning air compressor pulley. Lost 1st joint of 3rd finger and had 1st joint of middle reattached. Got infection resulting in 6 hospital days. Got "C-Dif" from over load of antibiotics. C-Dif can be fatal. Doctor caught it early. So keep those fingers clean and extra clean.

It will heal over in due time, then the end may be numb for a year or two, but eventually it will all come back. That's a lesson learned doing woodworking (actually I learned that lesson twice before I stopped taking chances).

Glad to hear you're feeling better. Back in 2004 I crushed my left ring finger (and I'm left handed). The bone between the last two knuckles was in 5 pieces. A hand specialist in St. Louis Mo saved my finger. I thought I'd never be able to clap my hands. I spent 3.5 days in the hospital along with a 4 hour surgery. It's a lot better now, got 90% of the feeling back, it's a little under-developed but works good. Cant wear my wedding ring though. Glad I still have it. It stings when my gloves get wet and it's cold. Don't let it get you down!!

Hope your finger doesn't give you too much trouble. Give it plenty of time to heal before you put it back to work.

Your not alone when it comes to smashed fingers. Almost everyone has buggered up at least one finger. My worse was when I had my sawmill. I was cutting a basswood log for a person that used the wood to carve duck decoys. I had the cants sawed and was stacking them on the carriage to cut them to width. I would grab a cant, laying on the ground, and toss in onto the carriage with my fingers under the cant and my thumb above. The last one I tossed on dropped on my middle finger crushing it against the corner of the cant below it. The corner of the cant hit the end of my finger between the first knuckle and the tip of the finger. Right at the base of my finger nail. It nearly removed the end of the finger. The doctor sewed it up, sewing the nail root in place. He wanted to keep the nail in place because it made a better cover for the broken flesh below it than anything else. After he wrapped it up he had it x-rayed. The bone was broken pretty cleanly and he told me it should mend okay. It took a long time for it to heal. The nail grew back in and is a little crooked, but it looks okay. The end of the finger still feels a little numb though. Not a big deal since it's a small part of my body. Your finger is going to ache when it gets cold from now on. You'll get used to it.

Worked with a guy that had the tip removed on one of his. He always said he wished he would have had them take the whole finger off. Reason being in the winter time it was always extremely cold to a point he couldn't work some cold days.

Good choice . { Yes Doc I'll keep my bone please]

NCWayne,

I am not a doc, nor think that I could be. That said, with a shorter left hand "traffic finger", I'd probably opt for the bone trim. I have problems with a single finger's sensation, cold, traffic, etc.

My thinking is that it took many years of work, activities, maneuvers, to damage the finger you have, where it is at. A small amount of bone removed will get things going quicker.

Again, do not trust any of my medical advise, just giving a different view on things,

D.

I lost my thumb in a PTO. The doctor did a great job shaping what was left of the bone to give me a useful stub, albeit very short. I have seen a lot of amputated thumbs that were not trimmed to as a useful state.

I would argue only your doctor can tell you about the possible out come given the damage.

I hope what you have left will be useful. I guess if your current course does not work out you can always opt for the second choice.

Paul

I'm fixing the bucket for a customer.....For what the Dr bills from this are going to run me I could have probably bought myself a nice, used machine. The bad thing is I've still got to fix the bucket....LOL