Fish Hook Injury of Hand: Should Home Removal be Attempted?

摘要

A 35 year-old male with a fish hook injury to his left hand presented to the Orthopedic casualty with a bleeding hand and holding a large fish hook with other hand, the shank of which was deeply embedded in the first web space. Multiple attempts to remove the hook at home had failed. After rotating the hook deeper and disengaging the barb from the tissue, it was backed out along the path of entry. Home removal by unqualified persons should strongly be discouraged and the patients should be referred to specialized surgical units for atraumatic removal and further management. Introduction Fishing is recreational activity enjoyed by millions of people worldwide. Although uncommon in developing countries it is a popular pastime in the Western world. Because of their design and nature, accidental impalement with fishhooks poses problems with removal. Often, the hook cannot be removed by the patient because of the barbs. All fishhook injuries require careful evaluation of surrounding tissue before attempting removal. 1 Most of the reports of fish hook injuries have been the focus of the ophthalmologists. 2,3,4. We report a case of fish hook injury to the hand and discuss the management and complications of this unique injury. Case Report A 35 year-old male sustained a fish hook injury to his left hand. He presented to the Orthopedic casualty after a period of four hours, with a bleeding hand and holding a large fish hook with other hand, the shank of which was deeply embedded in the first web space( Fig.1 )