Another cut finger - nerve damage

cerulean · Jan 10, 2000

Unfortunately, I guess this will have to be a sort of companion piece to Tuff's threads. (Sorry to hear about the non-surgery, Tuff)...

Anyways, a couple of nights ago I cut my left index finger. The cut was palm side, directly below the joint nearest the nail. It was a pretty small cut (only two stitches needed), but it was deep.

No tendons were damaged, but apparently a nerve was nicked. From the top joint upward, about 1/3 of the finger does not have sensation.

So, I really don't consider this to be that big of a deal; certainly not as bad as Tuff's accident or many others that I've read about here. However, I wonder if anyone has had similar experiences or knows anything about this. Can nerve damage be repaired, either through surgery or natural healing? I've got an appointment with a hand surgeon on Thursday, so I'll learn more about it then. I just wanted to hear some real world experiences.

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Cerulean

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain? - Blake

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 01-10-2000).]

MICKEY77 · Jan 10, 2000

I cut my middle finger and have still no sensation from the cut up.

I was told it would come back naturally???
but I really dont know yet

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My Email is - Hero47@juno.com -

[This message has been edited by MICKEY77 (edited 01-10-2000).]

misque · Jan 10, 2000

Nerve damage I sustained had to be repaired by surgery.
If you need the surgery, do it.
My right index finger did not get all of the sensation back due to complications. The finger sometimes feels like more of a hinderance than a help due to limited feeling and sometimes actually gets in the way.

Get it fixed and follow the surgeon's instructions to the letter. No joke here. These injuries don't just involve a finger, they are considered to be an injury to the entire arm. And rightly so. Don't take them lightly and no machismo. This injury will haunt you the rest of your life if you don't take care of it.
I hope that both you and Tuff make a full recovery

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If it's stupid but works, then it isn't stupid!

automantic · Jan 11, 2000

Hi y'all,

Strangly the tip of my thumb is now "hyper sensative"! I have had to switch to holding my coffe in the other hand when the cup does not have a handle. It should go away, but so far nothing.

Later,
John

P.S.

Originally posted by misque:
If it's stupid but works, then it isn't stupid!

Speed of dark found!

Can't hardly believe it did not make the headlines!

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Skeleton walks into a bar and and says "give me a beer and a mop."

ELarson · Jan 12, 2000

My cut to the left forefinger severed the nerve. It was repaired with microsurgery. The surgeon sews the nerve sheath back together, and then the nerve regrows inside the sheath. Nerves do regrow, but very slowly. After a year I have about half sensation back in the area affected. I'm 40 and didn't heal as well as someone in thier 20's would have. For me the surgery was worth it, but it is expensive. The final tally was over $8,000, most of which insurance picked up. The side effects are sensitivity to pressure and cold for the first couple years.

Good luck either way.

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E. Larson
Edmonds, WA

Burke · Jan 11, 2000

My cousin cut his left thumb with a SAK some years ago, and he claims he still has no sensation in the top 1/2 of that thumb.

Allen Blade · Jan 11, 2000

Hello,

Well i had a Crush injury, i recived while using a 12 ton hydrolic press to stamp my name in my blades...the stamp kicked out under about 3 tons of pressure and Crushed the middle finger on my left hand,Pulverized th whole tip of the bone,,tore the finger nail out of the nail bed,ect..ect.. that was almost 3 yrs ago,and i still have Limited Feeling in it.

I also Sunk the head of Marion David Poffs Hatchet into the Palm of my hand which required 7 stiches to close,but it healed up just fine, for a 3 inch long gash!! hehehe

Just about 2 weeks ago while using a Pick to pop the scale loose on a knife i had made, to replace the handle material for another kind i slipped and at full force i slammed my Pinky finger Sidways into the sharp edge of the blade just behind the main joint,
Hurt like hell, an seemed to not be too bad,but now it seems like i might have clipped the tendon because although i can open and close it,,, it has a nice hard little Ball formed under the skin ,which might be Tendon Atrophy,,,,who knows,,its healed up now.

Nerve damage may or may not repair itself to a degree ,but you will always know that the area was injured,they never feel the same.

my .02
Take Care,
Allen Blade

ps. I guess the Motto is Before working on a knife is to DUll the edge out first i guess.

[This message has been edited by Allen Blade (edited 01-11-2000).]

Walt Welch · Jan 11, 2000

Gentlemen; I feel somewhat uncomfortable about giving medical advice on a forum which is supposed to be about the discussion of blades. However, as long as neither Spark or Mike object, I will continue to answer. I do suggest that you contact me by e-mail after you post here, and I reply. Feel free to contact me by e-mail anytime, regarding any medical matter, no matter who you are or whatever you have posted. I went through school largely on public grants and scholarships, so I feel that it is just (a well deserved) payback for me; I welcome any medical questions.

Regarding severed nerves in digits. The problem is that the nerve gets smaller as it goes towards the tip of the finger. The old rule of thumb (no pun intended) was that at the MCP joint at the base of the finger, reattaching the nerve, artery, or vein, or all three, was usually possible. At the PIP joint, the next one towards the tip of the finger, it was sometimes possible. At the DIP joint, closest the fingertip, it was not usually possible.

Things may have changed since I got out of medicine 5 years ago, so by all means consult a specialist. The price of hand surgery sounds outrageous, until you realize just what miracles they can accomplish. A hand surgery under the operating microscope can, and does, put 10 (ten) stitches around the periphery of a blood vessel or nerve the size of a human hair!! This procedure requires an entire team of specialists, from the techs to the nurses. Each surgeon has his own team. Plus a complicated case may take 8 to 10 hours or even longer.

There are not many hand surgeons around. About a half dozen in the entire SF Bay area.

If you should have the misfortune to suffer a complex hand injury (crush injury, multiple amputations, or large laceration with fractures across the palm), don't be surprised if they put any parts separated from you into ice, after wrapping them in plastic to keep them dry, and just put you on hold until the morning comes. This is SOP, and makes sense. You DON'T bring an entire team into the OR in the middle of the night for a procedure that takes great manual dexterity, and which may last several hours. You start with well rested people.

Bottom line: prevention is worth several thousand dollars of cure. Watch what the heck you are doing. Count your digits and wish them well before plugging in any power tool. God gave you well shod feet to stomp down the garbage in the garbage can. A surprising number use their bare hands, and an even more surprising number find the one piece of broken glass, or the sharp pet food lid in the garbage in the worse possible way.

Be careful out there, OK?

Hope this helps, Walt Welch MD, Diplomate, American Board of Emergency Medicine.

cerulean · Jan 11, 2000

Hmm...very interesting information. But I guess I should start by saying that I would hate to impose on any of the medical people here. I'm certainly not seeking specific medical advice from BF members and, should someone do this in the future, such advice should not be given publicly. I'm simply looking for others experiences with this type of injury, descriptions of its anatomy, possible ways to repair it, and prospects for recovery.

After reading some of these posts, I feel very fortunate that only a small portion of my fingertip is affected. It's weird though how such a little cut can turn out to be such a bummer.

Anyways, thanks for the excellent information everyone. Stuff that I previously read indicated that it takes quite awhile for nerves to heal. Unfortunately, posts here confirm that, but it looks like there's a chance for eventual recovery.

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Cerulean

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain? - Blake

JoHnYKwSt · Jan 11, 2000

I remember a post by Walt a couple months ago where he basically stated cuts in your hand can be really bad. I took it into account and now it is even more clear. Thanks for the insight Walt.

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Johnny
[]xxxxxx[]=============>

wrdawe · Jan 14, 2000

On xmas day I was feeling no pain and should have stayed away from any sharp objects, but my daughter asked me open a small metal tin with some cosmetic inside. I used a small blade on an old leatherman and tried to open it like you would a watch case. The blade slipped and cut my left thumb at the first joint. It went through the artery and nerve and of course would not stop bleeding. The doc said the nerve could not be repaired, but that in a few years it might re-connect by it self. It has now been one year and the tip of the thumb is still numb.

magnum .44 · Jan 16, 2000

did you guys know that they sell kevlar carvers gloves. they are cut resistant!

johno · Jan 16, 2000

A couple of decades ago I put a fist thru a window. I didn't see a doctor until about a week later but he said that if I had come right away I would have needed a number of stictches. All of the fingers feel normal now, and pretty much felt that way after about ten years or so.

I was reshaping a wood handle on a six inch fixed blade knife with a bastard file last week, wondering about some of these threads where people cut themselves, when the file caught the knife and popped it out of my hand, the knife bounced off of the edge of workbench, made a nice vertical landing tip down on my knee, leaned over and then fell to the ground. Fortunately it was a lightweight butcher style hunting knife, and also because it landed on the muscle just behind the knee and not on connective tissue just ended up with a nice little red mark.

ptn · Jan 16, 2000

At age 12 I tried to cut the tip of my left index finger off while attempting to slice a frozen loaf of my mother's delicious homemade bread. I didn't seek medical attention....just bound it up. The result was a numbness above the cut that has persisted. 30 years later I got fishook stuck in the same fingertip.....couldn't push it through with needlenose pliers....so having a sharp knife at hand, I made an incision which freed the hook. Didn't feel a thing. Uh...what's my point? An accidental cut coincidentally made an intentional cut easier? I don't know, just relating a story.

speedrck · Jan 16, 2000

I second Magnum 44's suggestion about using the cut resistant gloves. I always use one when doing some serious testing with a knife. I recomend the Forschshield glove that uses Spectra. It's saved me alittle blood.

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Ray Carr

jrollins · Jan 16, 2000

Eeep! OK, I guess I got lucky. Being a stupid kid, a few years ago(now I'm just as stupid, but not as likely to admit it) for some REALLY stupid reason I was trying to use some cheap serrated kitchen knife to cut a whole in a sheet of plywood. Don't ask why, I can't remember. Well, of course my hand slipped. Got a nice slit in my pinky for the trouble, I sat there staring at it a moment and almost freaked. OK, go inside and grab a band-aid... Like I said, I got lucky, there was absolutely NO bleeding!!, but I could see inside my finger which is part of what freaked me out. Just kinda cut open the skin. Well, it healed up nicely pretty quick, although there is still a small scar there about 1/2" long. It's on the inside(palm side) JUST below the last joint before you get to the knuckles(although they are on the other side...). Well, reading these posts has freaked me out again. Lucky me. Hope I don't do it again. Well, I KNOW I won't be cutting any more holes in plywood with a little tiny serrated knife...

Matt Shade · Jan 16, 2000

As far as I know, nerves cannot be repaired by surgery, but depending on the amount of damage they can heal themselves. I had stitches in my finger a month or 2 ago. It was numb above the cut for about a week. The only felling it had ws it hurt like hell if you touched it, and it really hurt like hell if it got cold. The feeling cae back completely by the end of the week. The pain from cold is just finally going away.If your lucky, your hand will heal too.

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Fix it right the first time, use Baling Wire !

EQUALIZER · Jan 16, 2000

When I was a kid, Mom used to always say, "Be careful", before I ever left the house or did anything. Sometimes it just seemed like a trite little phrase with very little meaning attached. (She did actually MEAN, "Be careful", but I usually took those words for granted).

Many years and scars later those words carry much more weight. Nowadays, when our friend Dr. Welch says, "Be careful out there, OK?" and gives plenty of reasons why, it makes me stop and think when I pick up that blade and start to get careless. Yes, Dr. Welch, its helps.....

Robert

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"But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that hath no sword let him sell his garment and buy one." --Jesus Christ (Luke 22:36) See John 3:15- 18

Marcus · Jan 16, 2000

I cut my thumb about 5 years ago working on an engine. It cut it to the bone just above the 1st joint on a diagonal. Being "joe tuff guy" I taped it up and kept on working. When I got home I washed it out with soap,water and alchohol and Crazy Glued it shut. The whole thumb above the cut felt like "pins and needles when I touched it for a year or more to lesser and lesser degrees. After about 2 years it was almost normal and I have full use and feeling in it now. In retrospect I guess I was REAL lucky! Marcus