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Trauma to the Hands and Feet

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Pediatric Surgery

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Abstract

Children sustaining trauma to either the hands or the feet are frequently seen in emergency departments. Most of the resulting injuries are benign lesions associated with a favorable long-term outcome. However, some injuries require special attention concerning diagnosis, treatment – either non-operative or operative – and postoperative rehabilitation. The focus of this chapter is to introduce these injuries. The first part of the chapter concentrates on injuries to the hands including fractures of the carpus, the metacarpus, and the phalanges. Fractures requiring operative stabilization will be discussed in detail. Subsequently, the examination, the surgical treatment, as well as the postoperative rehabilitation program of lacerations of flexor and extensor tendon injuries of the hand will be presented. Nail bed injuries are commonly encountered especially in smaller children; their standard treatment will be presented thereafter. Fractures of the pediatric foot constitute the second part of the chapter. Rare injuries such as fractures of the hindfoot (talus and calcaneus) and the indications for operative treatment are presented. The majority of fractures of the metatarsals, the phalanges, and the hallux can be treated conservatively. These injuries and the small subset of fractures necessitating operative treatment are described. Finally, diagnosis and treatment of complex injuries of the pediatric foot are discussed. The aim of this chapter is to provide the knowledge necessary in order to correctly diagnose and treat injuries of the hand and feet in children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Georg Singer

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  1. Georg Singer
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Correspondence to Georg Singer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Our Lady’s Children's Hospital, National Children’s Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland

    Prem Puri

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Singer, G. (2020). Trauma to the Hands and Feet. In: Puri, P. (eds) Pediatric Surgery. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_129-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38482-0_129-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38482-0

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