Fingertip amputation is one of the most common injuries that people may face. A sharp cut, lacerating injury, and severe or smashing injury can lead to finger amputation. Finger amputation can often be a result of slamming your fingers in a window or door.
A finger amputation can cause damage to several parts of your fingers, including –
- The underlying nail bed and nails
- The fingertip bones
- The soft tissue of around fingers
- The skin of your fingers
- The underlying nerves
Fingertips have a plethora of nerves and soft skin tissues. It is essential to treat your fingertip amputation promptly as the area around the fingers is extraordinarily sensitive. To prevent finger disability and deformity, you must try to quickly recover from your fingertip amputation.
How Long is The Fingertip Amputation Healing Process?
The fingertip amputation healing process generally depends on the extent of fingertip injury. Minor fingertip injuries can heal naturally within two to three weeks, whereas severe injuries may need months to heal.
In most fingertip injury cases, the surgeon will cut out the severely damaged non-viable tissue and remove the debris. Eliminating the damaged tissues will allow your finger to heal completely. The surgeon will sew the fingertip edges together to complete the treatment process. You will be left with a finger stump that is capable of healing quickly without the risk of any infections or complications.
Your doctor will also identify factors that can threaten your healing process –
- Comorbidities or chronic conditions can slow down your recovery and give rise to complications.
- Smokers, alcoholic persons, or people with high blood pressure and obesity will usually face a slower recovery pace.
- Your lifestyle, health, and other medical conditions will impact the amputation healing time of your fingers.
How to Boost the Fingertip Amputation Healing Process?
Fingertips are essential to our everyday lives. From holding your cup of coffee to accessing your phones, it is difficult to spend a day with an injured fingertip. If you want to speed the healing process of your amputated fingertips and quickly get back to normal life, follow these methods –
Aggressive Injury Care
Your fingertip amputation needs some aggressive injury care to quickly heal. You must ensure that the incision is dry at all times. Cover the wounded area in a clean dressing and prevent any drainage.
You must always check whether there are any signs of infection. Contact your doctor immediately if any complication arises.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
If you want to accelerate the fingertip amputation healing process, then opt for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It will saturate your fingertip tissues with pressurized and 100% pure oxygen. The air we breathe contains around 21% of oxygen, which is not sufficient for the fast healing of your amputated fingertips.
The hyperbaric oxygen tissues will enable your body fluids and tissues to absorb pure oxygen. This delivery of potent oxygen will accelerate the natural recovery process of your body by –
- Enhance the capacity of white blood cells to fight infection-causing bacteria
- Generate more connective tissues
- Form new capillaries
Other Treatment Therapies
Your doctor will specify some exercises to build the strength of your fingers and hands. You can also incorporate additional therapies like –
- Massage and heat therapy
- Grasping and pinching exercises
- Specialized compression wraps to control the swelling of your fingers
- Applying splints
To Sum Up
Finger amputation can be extremely painful and requires proper care. Your finger can stay sensitive to heat and cold for months. The fingertip amputation healing process depends on the health conditions, habits, and age of the patient. Regular exercise and diet can help you to recover quickly.