From time to time I have patients come to me with deep lacerations to the hand which on further inspection reveal injuries to the tendons. This causes an inability to move their fingers as they should. Often the injury is caused by a knife or cutlass but it can also due to a moto accident.
Thumb Extensor Tendon Injury
One recent patient had been assaulted with a cutlass which broke the first bone of his hand and cut the two tendons to his thumb. Once I was able to bring the tendons back together it stabilized the bone as well.
The wound healed nicely but for several months he never came for a follow-up. Then one day he stopped me in the hospital and showed me how well his thumb was functioning. Take a look at the video clip below:
Another Cutlass Attack
I also had two women and a man brought to the operating theater with hands bandaged and blood on their clothes. Again, the wounds were in self-defense against a cutlass wielding assailant.
The worst cut was on the right index finger of the man which was so deep that it severed the extensor tendons of the finger. I had to make another incision in order to retrieve the tendon which had retracted back into the palm. I was able to suture both of the tendons and close the wound. I kept it splinted for a couple weeks. Afterwards, he had a great result and was able to use the finger again.