Comprehensive Treatment of Single Finger Frostbite: A Case Study

Third- and fourth-degree frostbites usually result in loss of skin and tissue requiring amputation, and scarring. The 3- to 6-week waiting period is often necessary to determine the severity of the lesion. This period is also a critical time for the rescue of frostbitten tissue. This patient was a 30-year-old man who developed frostbite of his right index finger. He presented to our hospital 4 hours after injury with loss of sensation on the whole index finger and early signs of necrosis. The patient received a series of comprehensive treatments, including fasciotomy, injection of papaverine hydrochloride, baking lamp irradiation, and negative pressure treatment. At the time of discharge, he had re-epithelialization of the index finger by 21 days after injury. The conclusion of this paper is that the comprehensive treatments combined with negative pressure wound treatment has certain clinical application value for the rescue of deep frostbite tissues.