Hand Injury

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Traumatic Problems

Hand Injury is one of the most common reasons for emergency room visits.  Many hand injuries can be taken care of in the emergency room or outpatient hand surgery with a follow up visit to the Hayes Hand Center office for further evaluation and treatment.  Injuries can be quite serious and may result in functional limitations even with optimum and appropriate care.

Fractures of the hand or wrist bones result from direct trauma as in a fall.  You are likely to have pain, swelling, and maybe even a deformity to the shape of the hand or fingers.  You may be able to move the fingers despite a broken bone.  During your evaluation, x-rays will be taken and assessed for injury.  Non-displaced fractures (bone is in alignment but broken) can be treated with splints or casts.  If your bone is not aligned well, it will have to be put back in place as well as possibly requiring surgery for stabilization.

Lacerations, or cuts, to the hand can be minor and superficial and involve only the skin.  Deeper cuts can injure important structures like tendons, nerves, or blood vessels.  These injuries might result in the inability to move a finger, numbness, or a pale and cool digit (finger).  These injuries are serious and require specialized attention for their repair in an operating room.

Other injuries like crushes, foreign bodies, ligament tears from twisting and falls are treated commonly at the Hayes Hand Center.

Infection of the hand is another common reason for an emergency room visit.   You may have a small wound that develops some redness and swelling.  Small wounds can quickly get worse and cause pain and fevers.  Early infections are treated with antibiotics and splinting.  More severe and deep infections may result in a hospital admission for IV antibiotics and surgical drainage.

Whether you have a fracture, laceration or have been treated for an infection, proper assessment and surgery are only the beginning of your recovery.  These injuries may require a detailed and extensive therapy program to heal well.  Therapy at the Hayes Hand Center rehabilitation area is specialized for the hand and is a critical part of the recovery process.

At the Hayes Hand Center, we are actively involved in emergency room consults and see injury referrals very quickly so that treatment and recovery can begin promptly.

If you live in the Chattanooga, Tennessee and suffer a traumatic hand injury, please contact the Hayes Hand Center as quickly as possible for information on reconstructive hand surgery.