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Treatment

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The main focus of treatment is on the associated soft tissue injury:

  • no serious nail injury - protect the fracture with a plastic mallet finger splint and analgesia
  • nail bed displaced - reposition with one or two sutures inserted into the sides of the tip of the finger
  • nail bed partially avulsed - remove the nail and examine underlying nail bed for injury. Then replace nail with suitable dressing to serve as a splint
  • nail bed fully avulsed - cover exposed area with soft paraffin gauze

In any nail injury, give tetanus and antibiotic prophylaxis. Remove any subungual haematoma by trephining the nail with a red-hot paper clip, and squeezing out the haematoma.

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