When you sustain an injury to your hand, nail bed injuries may be the last thing on your mind. It’s important to address any injury to the nail bed, however, to reduce the likelihood of a permanent nail deformity.
Injury to the nail bed can happen when the hand or fingers are crushed, cut or pinched. Shutting fingers in a car door is a common cause of nail bed injury. These injuries are sometimes accompanied by other damage, like broken bones, severed ligaments or nerve injury, so it’s important to have a hand specialist examine and treat the injury.
Depending on what happened to cause the injury, you may notice a hematoma (collection of blood) under the nail, which is very painful. The nail may be damaged or missing as well.
A hand doctor will want to know what happened to the hand to understand the trauma that was sustained. The doctor will examine the area and may order imaging, like x-rays, to assess the damage done and create a treatment plan.
A small hole may be made in the nail to relieve pressure from pooling blood beneath it, if the hematoma is small. If the hematoma is larger or the nail is loose, the nail may be removed to fix the underlying hematoma.
Depending on the type and extent of the injury, the nail may grow back normally on its own. On average, it takes 3-6 months for the nail to grow from the cuticle to the tip of the finger.
In some cases, however, especially when the crescent-shaped zone at the base of the nail bed, called the germinal matrix, is damaged, the nail may not regrow. If the sterile matrix is injured, the nail may regrow with a deformity. The nail bed can sometimes be reconstructed with grafts taken from the nail bed of a toe to prevent further injury or deformity of the fingers. This is very rare, however.
No matter the course of treatment, keeping the area clean and getting specific care instructions from a doctor who specializes in the hands and fingers is important to prevent infection and give you the best chance for the optimal outcome.
Midwest Hand Surgery has a team of specialists who are solely focused on the health and treatment of hands, wrists and fingers. We invite you to request an appointment by calling us at 630-359-6888 or clicking here.
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