Pric injury: Foreign body removal: Simple cases

Farming activities can result in many types of accidental foreign bodies getting stuck in hands and fingers. These foreign bodies are very painful. If not treated promptly, they can cause severe pain, fever, and infection.

Case Presentation

A 55-year-old female presented with complaints of pain, swelling, and redness in her left foot for 3 days. She reported a history of a prick injury with a wood splinter 3 days ago. On examination, there was local tenderness, swelling, and mild reddish discoloration of the skin.

Image 1. Prick injury over left foot mild edema and redness visible in prick.

In view of the prick injury, wound exploration was decided to rule out any foreign body.

Procedure: Under AAP (All aseptic precautions) and local anesthesia with 2% Xylocaine, a surgical incision was made to explore the wound. The foreign body was identified and removed, and the wound was closed. ASD was done.An injection of Tetanus Toxoid was given intramuscularly as tetanus prophylaxis. The patient was advised to have antiseptic dressings on alternate days and was discharged with NSAIDs for pain relief.

Image 2. LA under AAP.

Image 3. Surgical incision.

Image 4. Identification of foreign body.

Image 5. Taking out foreign body(wood splinter)

Image 6. Foreign body taken out (wood splinter)

Case 2: A 45-year-old male presented to the emergency room (ER) with a complaint of pain in the palm of his hand. He mentioned that a wood splinter had pricked his hand, and he suspected that it was still stuck.

Examination and Findings: The palm was tender upon palpation, and there was a small opening at the prick site.

Management: Under aseptic conditions and local anesthesia with 2% Xylocaine, a surgical incision was made using a No. 11 surgical blade. The wound was retracted with a small retractor, and the wood splinter was identified and pulled out with artery forceps. The wound was thoroughly cleaned with Betadine, followed by normal saline, to ensure all dust and micro foreign bodies were removed. A dressing was then applied for hemostasis. An injection of Tetanus Toxoid was given intramuscularly as tetanus prophylaxis. The patient was advised to have antiseptic dressings on alternate days and was discharged with NSAIDs for pain relief.

Image 7: Showing surgical incision over palm of hand to identify wood splinter.

Image 8: Showing Stucked wood splinter taken out surgically.