This patient presented to the HUM Emergency Department after a motorcycle accident. Among his injuries was a partially avulsed fingernail. A digital block was performed and the nail was removed to reveal a nailbed laceration. The laceration was repaired and the nail sutured in place to serve as a splint and dressing for the underlying nailbed.
For nailbed lacerations:
- Remove the nail if it is unstable with a large subungal hematoma.
- Use very fine, absorbable sutures for the nailbed repair (6.0 – 7.0)
- Reinsert the original nail and suture it in place. (The patient should keep it in for the next 2 – 3 weeks). If you do not have an intact original nail, cut a “replacement nail” from either xray film or the suture wrapping material to use as the splint.
More information:
Video from Lacerationrepair.com – Closing the Gap: “Nailbed injuries, Part 1”
