Finger amputation need a hand hold.

[jmh740]

My cat bit me in August when I was trying to medicate her. Ive been on antibiotics since 28.8 but it was still badly infected. On Tuesday they told me the bone was infected and the surgeon wouldnt know how much unti he opened it up. I went into surgery for it to be cleaned out (for the 4th time) on Thursday. They hand is well bandaged and it looks like they have amputated between the first and second knuckle.
It was a real sock and I'm struggling to cope with the pain. Does anyone know what the future looks like for me?

How long will it take to heal?
What will I still be able to do?
What wont I be able to do?
Any tips and hints to aid recovery?

Im having the dressing changed tomorrow and a bit nervous to see it.

This is absolutely shocking. That’s more than the tip. It’s a shame they didn’t prepare you better about what to expect / how much is gone. I’d make a complaint.
Feeling significantly less guilty about not getting a cat like DC wanted!!! I’ve never heard of this happening from a cat bite, looks like you’ve been very unlucky.
Good luck with your new normal and speedy recovery.

OP you're bloody brave. I'll never look at cats the same way... I like the little buggers but I had no idea that they could do that!

Hope you soon feel better OP, and I'm sure you will find that you can do everything that you used to be able to do.
I see the people who claimed you were faking this with AI have gone very quiet and not had the decency to apologise.

it is true that despite x rays etc it can be difficult to know how bad an injury can be until the surgeon starts work. obviously as you were under a general as he said he could not advise as he went along.
i think its a good idea to take your husband make a list of questions ie what use you still have, pain relief, etc,
just as a point of fact i still always want my mum and dad nearly 20 years down the line if anyone could make things right they could
i have animal scars too quite bad ones but it never stopped me loving and caring for them

I'm so sorry OP - this sounds super tough and really upsetting. I'm sure it's going to take some time to get used to but another reassuring story to add to the mix - my handyman has two missing fingers on his dominant hand. I've known him for years and only noticed recently, as it's clearly never stopped him doing anything. Take care

Precisely. When I fractured and totally dislocated my leg/ankle I was warned that amputation was a possibility and with any surgery you are warned of any serious outcome that may be necessary. Including death for my recent major lung surgery 🤷🏼‍♀️

I hope you are out of pain soon as it must be so bloody painful, but that's a really neat wound, if I was you I would get a tiny tattoo done of an iceberg, then when/ if people ask you can say its now the tip of the iceberg. But i do have a warped humour.
Wishing you have an easy recovery x

Yes but in that situation first of all of course you sign as you need the treatment, but generally you'd assume it's extremely unlikely so you don't actually expect it to happen. And afterwards, you'd expect it to be explained to you what had been done. Honestly 'well you signed a form!' is really not some great 'gotcha' moment, it's okay to expect more from our NHS and it's normal to be traumatised from having the worst possible outcome actually happen.

Yikes OP, I hope you're OK now. Any updates?

My mother has semi adopted a cat that was hanging around her house. It has bitten her once and scratched her several times for no apparent reason. She feeds it, gives it milk etc. and it seems very happy, then suddenly turns.

It seems so sweet...... my Dad never liked cats for this reason I think. My grandmother fed all the strays back in the day and the house was full of them but I had no idea that this sort of severe infection could happen.

I was aware of other infections, like tetanus, but Mum just laughed it off and refused to see the GP. I need to warn her about this, she's in her late 70s.

I'm just adding my very best wishes, sincerely hope that the pain subsides soon

Start doing some light percussion tapping on the tip to begin the neural pathways to let your brain know where your finger now ends.

And once your stitches are out you can massage the scar to soften it up and reduce adhesions

OMG

Depends on the theatre. In ours as long as we can monitor it on a toe then people can keep acrylics on.

OP.hooe you are more comfortable and better quickly. It's been quite a shock.

I think I've missed an update.

It sounds as if OP has had to have part of her finger amputated? I'm so sorry OP, sending virtual flowers. This must be one hell of a shock.

Take the best of care of yourself and I hope you have loving and helpful friends and family around you.

Hello OP, not sure if you have had your follow up yet or not but best of luck.
I’m a hand therapist and see this happen reasonably frequently where cat bites progress to bone infection (‘osteomyelitis’), it is not uncommon at all, we love the little kitties but they carry some fun bugs in their mouth it seems.
im not sure of the setup at your local hospital but it might be worth asking the surgical team or your GP if they can refer you to post-op hand therapy who can help you with managing swelling, managing the scar and hypersensitivity, return to function etc.
The general consensus amongst the therapists I know is that if you were going to lose a bit of finger, the tip of your index is best as you learn to oppose to middle quite well (ring and little important for power grip).
If it is very painful, don’t be afraid to ask the doctors for help around pain relief.

Oh @jmh740 i’m so sorry. Like you say, at least you can start to come to terms with it now I guess, but it’s very early days.

Have they given you stronger pain relief yet? If not I would definitely ask- no point making the next couple of weeks any harder than they need to be x

Whilst I am sure that it was absolutely necessary to amputate as much as they did, it was pretty appalling that you were unsure how much was removed until the dressings came off. I think that it would be absolutely valid to make a complaint about this (but only if you feel up to this).

And don’t try to be stoical about pain - if you need the strong stuff, ask for it.

My Dad had 14 cats at once was never bitten, I was just very unlucky.

Its all rather fresh and new, work on keeping the diabetes under control so you can heal properly, get everything healed up and start rehab - you will be suprised how you adapt to the missing finger - many people do after saw injuries and the like, but its all upsetting at the moment - so focus on good eating, good blood sugar control and taking medication if you do, plus exercise to help the blood sugars (even just a bit of walking) that should get you on the road to recovery. I do empathise with you its tough. Maybe when things are better look at sorting out what went wrong etc.

If you go to the original post, in the bottom righthand corner there is a button See All. Click on that and you can read all the OP's updates.

Yes that surprised me , is that not a thing any more? They used to be absolutely adamant about no nail varnish before an op.

Tell that to some of the locals, it seems to be a night out venue for a lot of them!

Click "see all" under any of the OP's posts and you will find it. Edit: sorry, I see now that someone else has already told you.

OP, I hope the people who didn’t believe you are feeling guilty. I haven’t seen any apologies yet…

Good luck with your recovery.