eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Trauma & Orthopedics

Hand Injury, Soft Tissue: Follow-up

Author: Andrea B Lese, MD, Staff Physician, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Coauthor(s): Kenneth R Chuang, MD, Attending Physician, Emergency Department, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children's Hospital; Wyatt Decker, MD, Chair and Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Sep 29, 2008

Follow-up

Complications

Complications of soft tissue hand injuries may include the following:

  • Pain
  • Stiffness
  • Abscess
  • Decreased range of motion
  • Scar formation
  • Loss of digit/hand (rare)

Prognosis

  • With early and appropriate treatment, prognosis is good.

Patient Education

Miscellaneous

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Complications of traumatic wounds account for the highest number of medicolegal actions against emergency physicians in the US. Be sure to consider the possibility of fractures and retained foreign bodies or deep tissue injury in all open wounds.
  • Clearly inform all patients with hand injuries of the possibility of complications and instruct them on the potential signs and symptoms of complications. Patients should be informed that pain, limitation of mobility, and stiffness commonly occur after hand injuries even with optimal care. When applicable, as in the case of flexor tendon injuries or UCL tears of the thumb, the importance of timely follow-up with a hand clinic should be emphasized to the patient.
  • Finally, carefully document the care, procedures, and follow-up plan for all patients.
 
Acknowledgments

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous author, Kahill Glenn, MD, to the development and writing of this article.



More on Hand Injury, Soft Tissue

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Follow-up: Hand Injury, Soft Tissue
Multimedia: Hand Injury, Soft Tissue
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

soft tissue hand injury, soft-tissue hand injury, nerve injury, sprain, dislocation, finger dislocation, hand injury treatment, penetrating hand injury, crush injury hand, ligament injury, tendon injury, hand injuries, gamekeeper's thumb, skier's thumb, boutonniere deformity, mallet finger

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Andrea B Lese, MD, Staff Physician, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Andrea B Lese, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Phi Beta Kappa
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Kenneth R Chuang, MD, Attending Physician, Emergency Department, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Miller Children's Hospital
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Wyatt Decker, MD, Chair and Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mayo Clinic
Wyatt Decker, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Dan Danzl, MD, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Professor, University of Louisville Hospital
Dan Danzl, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Kentucky Medical Association, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Wilderness Medical Society
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Eric Legome, MD, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Manhattan
Eric Legome, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD, Medical Director, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

 
 
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