Mallet finger is a type of fracture which occurs in the distal joint of the finger and causes abnormal finger flexion at distal joint. There are two ways to treat mallet finger. One of them is treating by splint that is a thermoplastic splint, it can be custom or ready-made to keep the finger in hyper extension position and the patient must keep it for a while until the bone will have healed. The other method is treating by Kirschner wire (k- wire) this wire should be inserted inside the bone to correct the fracture and the wire will have removed when the bone has healed. This essay will discuss the benefits of these two ways. It will be argued that although there are two ways to treat mallet finger, k -wire has more benefits in terms of treatment period, risk of complications and the long-term results.
There is a massive difference in the treatment …show more content…
First, treating by K-wire, the wire should be inside the bone to correct the fracture for three weeks. Sometimes an x-ray may be needed to prove that the fracture has healed after which the wire can be removed. Also, the wire sticks out of the skin, so it is easy to remove the wire once the bone has healed and the patient can use his hand normally. On the other side, treatment by using mallet splint, the patient should apply it for six to eight weeks full-time and for further two weeks he should wear it at night (Prosser and Conolly 2003). However, there are several difficulties during immobilization by using splint, such as, if the splint was removed and the finger was bent for any reason, the six weeks must start again (Anderson 2011). Also, when the patient tries to use his hand normally he
There is a massive difference in the treatment …show more content…
First, treating by K-wire, the wire should be inside the bone to correct the fracture for three weeks. Sometimes an x-ray may be needed to prove that the fracture has healed after which the wire can be removed. Also, the wire sticks out of the skin, so it is easy to remove the wire once the bone has healed and the patient can use his hand normally. On the other side, treatment by using mallet splint, the patient should apply it for six to eight weeks full-time and for further two weeks he should wear it at night (Prosser and Conolly 2003). However, there are several difficulties during immobilization by using splint, such as, if the splint was removed and the finger was bent for any reason, the six weeks must start again (Anderson 2011). Also, when the patient tries to use his hand normally he