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.

Sorry this has happened to you OP. When you go for the dressing change tomorrow, make sure that you tell them - before they start - that you are unsure of how much has been amputated and are anxious about seeing it. Otherwise they might just remove the dressing without preparing you mentally for what to expect.

Surely we can all see that the bottom left of the photo says ‘AI generated content.’

OP just to say yes it certainly does look like more than the tip is gone. Someone should jolly well have explained to you...!

But either way it's done. I hope the pain abates quickly, and that it turns out to be better than it looks when you see it.

Not surprising that you are worried. My stomach lurches at the thought of seeing what is under that bandage. Wishing you nerves of steel.

Did they really put you under general whilst wearing nail polish? I thought that was a no-no.

I ai out the crap on the living room floor lol

It is deeply shocking (even with everything going on with the NHS) that no one sat down with you once you woke up to explain that your finger had been amputated during surgery. Wtf.

Yes - there was a case last year of a British woman who was scratched very lightly by a puppy on holiday. She thought nothing of it, carried on with her holiday, came back home to the UK and became ill. Unfortunately once you have developed rabies symptoms nothing can be done - you need to start a course of vaccinations as soon as you have been infected. Very sadly, the woman died.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98wyllp170o

Including the crap on living room floor!

Hi OP, do you have a sense of humour cos I think asking for a hand hold is brilliant.

What a shock! I’ve got a few cats and had no idea this could happen. Wishing you the best xx

Yep. A man Inused to know through work spent 5 weeks on a high dependency unit after one of his cats bit him on the foot. He was off work for months and then kept having to back to hospital for more treatment. In the end I think he got early retirement on health grounds.

It’s vitally important to get immediate medical attention for a cat bite which has broken the skin.

There’s no floor in the photo.

They said the theatre should be closed but they were going to squeeze me in, so I just assumed they had finished up and gone home. I was more concerned they were going to send me home at that point. Id been told i should be going to surgery between 3 and 4 so when i hadnt gone by 5ish i thought they were going to send me and cancel. Ive only had GA once before about 30 years ago when I had my wisdom teeth out. Last time I stayed in hospital before this was when I had my youngest 16 years ago.

I thought the same. I also thought this was my own hand based on the colours...

Picture pending...

I wish it was.

I removed a red bag of junk at the top of the picture.

Sheesh..how sad. It must be horrendous for people like that woman once the symptoms show and they basically get told it’s rabies, you’re dying and there’s nothing that can be done.

I do have a sense of humour but I didnt do that intentionally lol.
Im 52 had cats all my life I didnt know this could happen either. Oh had to persuade me to go to A&E the night it happened I was just going to put salon and a plaster on it.

It is a no no

OP, I had surgery that caused a permenant change to my body, and I wasn't sure how I was going to react when they did the dressing change the next day and I saw it for the first time. I looked the other way and asked the nurse to remove the dressing and describe it to me before I looked, she was happy to do so.

I've also had a very nasty cat bite, luckily (!?!) it was so incredibly painful that I went to minor injuries straight away and they flushed it and gave me ABs. @I lost the feeling in 2 fingers for months. I can absolutely believe you've had a very nasty infection. It's quite shocking though that the surgeon didn't come and talk to you afterwards and explain what was done. Did they give you any pain relief to take home?

My mum managed to amputate her own finger tip by touching a strimmer to see if it was on! You can barely notice it and doeasnt bigger her. She does feel the cold in it though.

I think if working on one hand they’d put the SATS probe on a finger on the other hand. So more likely to remove polish on the non amputation side. Saying that a consultant anaesthetist friend of mine says nail polish makes no difference to sats probe readings.

I had a general anaesthetic and two lots of heavy sedation with acrylic overlays when I was in hospital last year.

They'd prefer nail polish to be removed, but it's not always possible in an emergency, or if the patient has something semi-permanent like acrylic or gel polish, and it's not essential.

Even when they remove nail polish, they often only make you remove it from one finger (the one they clip the monitor to).