History: 31 year-old male had a crush injury to his right middle finger. He worked as a registered dental assistant and it was important that he could return to wearing gloves and working as quickly as possible. X-rays showed a comminuted fracture of the proximal phalanx (finger) with more than 25 degrees of angulation in the lateral view and 15 degrees of angulation in the AP view.
Diagnosis: Right long finger proximal phalanx fracture
Treatment: Right long finger proximal phalanx open reduction and internal fixation with intramedullary screw
Outcome: The patient had surgery on a Friday morning and returned to work on Monday morning. He removed his own splint and aside from mild soreness and swelling was able to wear gloves and perform his typical work. When he arrived for his first post-operative visit 10 days after surgery he had minimal pain and nearly normal motion even before the stitches were removed.
X-rays at 10 days showed good overall alignment.
