Laceration on Hand

Hands | General Practice | Laceration on Hand (Symptom)


Description

Laceration is a cut, a torn, irregular wound. Laceration is an irregular tear-like wounds caused by some blunt trauma. Lacerations and incisions may appear linear (regular) or stellate (irregular). The term laceration is commonly misused in reference to incisions.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Treatment of recent lacerations involves examining, cleaning, and closing the wound. If there is a delay in treatment and the laceration occurred more than 6-24 hours before evaluation, it may be preferable to heal by secondary intention, due to the high rate of infection associated with delayed closure.

For simple lacerations, cleaning can be accomplished using a number of different solutions, including tap water, sterile saline solution, or an antiseptic solution, such as hydrogen peroxide. Infection rates may be lower with the use of tap water in regions where water quality is high. Evidence for the effectiveness of any cleaning of simple wound however is limited.

It is important to avoid putting alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine into a cut, which can delay healing. Delay in getting medical care can increase the rate of wound infection. If a cut results from a puncture wound through a shoe, there is a high risk of infection. Redness, swelling, increased pain, and pus draining from the wound also indicates an infection that requires professional care.

Lacerations are frequent and simple entities whose treatment may include suture, which is the most popular method for the resolution of injury, but includes disadvantages as the use of needles for the administration of anaesthesia. It has been suggested that the wounds of the hand that are open to experience similar evolution that are sutured. The goal of treatment of these lesions involves the development of a functional and cosmetically acceptable scar, with the least pain and inconvenience minimal. ...