Mallet Finger?

[Cydonia]

DS (13) stuck his hand down the back of the sofa earlier and then complained that his finger was bent and felt a bit funny. The very tip is bent down, he can push it straight but it won’t straighten on its own. It’s not painful, swollen or red/bruised.
I googled it and it sounds like mallet finger. Does anyone have any experience of this? It says it should be seen fairly urgently as needs to be splinted, but our hospital doesn’t have a minor injuries dept and given the lack of pain I don’t feel it’s an A&E job? But if I wait until Monday and phone the GP will they see him or send him to hospital anyway for an x/ray?
Any advice/experiences appreciated!

Take him to a and e in the morning

Yes! Recently happened to me.
if it’s mallet finger - it must go in a splint and be kept straight for 6-8 weeks. Absolutely no bending it at all.

the tendon would be snapped and it needs this time to repair.
if you can’t face A&E to night then tape it to a stick and keep it straight. But it needs a proper plastic moulded split long term.

I also had no pain or swelling.

Thanks. I thought a snapped tendon would be more painful!

Can be a tendon or a bony injury, so standard input would be an xray to rule it out.
Treatment is splinting 6-8 weeks depending on whether there is a fracture.

Taping to a lolly stick or similar is fine overnight.

GP or minor injuries.

I'm an NHS hand therapist :)

Ah thank you! Would you recommend trying to get him seen tomorrow? We don’t have minor injuries but there is like an out of hours GP at the hospital if you ring 111 first.

He'll need an xray so you may as well head to A&E in the morning, keep it splinted straight til then. Sitting here with my splinted mallet finger, 6 weeks in and counting the days. Mine wasn't that painful either, just couldn't move it.

Oh no! I’ve never heard of it until now, can’t believe how easy it is to do! I will ring 111 in the morning.