A rare case of closed degloving injury of the fifth toe

Konstantinos Kateros; Georgios Kyriakopoulos; Maria Vlachou; Leon Oikonomou; Stamatios Papadakis; George Macheras; Spyridon Galanakos

doi:10.1016/j.tcr.2020.100358

A rare case of closed degloving injury of the fifth toe

Trauma Case Rep. 2020 Oct 8:30:100358. doi: 10.1016/j.tcr.2020.100358. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Konstantinos Kateros¹, Georgios Kyriakopoulos¹, Maria Vlachou¹, Leon Oikonomou¹, Stamatios Papadakis², George Macheras², Spyridon Galanakos²

Affiliations

¹ First Orthopaedic Department, Gennimatas General Hospital, Cholargos, Athens, Greece.
² Fourth Orthopaedic Department, "KAT" General Hospital, Kifisia, Athens, Greece.

Abstract

Empty toe injury is a rare type of closed degloving injury; limited cases have been reported previously, with controversial outcomes. Our case is a 22 year old male who was injured by a trolley bus. The patient presented at our emergency department with extensive swelling of the right foot, deformity of the fifth toe, bruising and intact skin. On clinical examination the phalangeal bone could not be palpated in the fifth toe and there was no capillary refill. The patient underwent open reduction combined with fasciotomies. The toe regained perfusion after the reduction and was under close observation to ensure its viability. Finally the distal and part of the middle phalanx of the toe was amputated. The purpose of this report is to inform health providers about this unique type of injury and contribute to a more sufficient treatment plan. Level of evidence: IV.

Keywords: Degloving injury; Empty toe; Phalangeal bone.

Publication types

Case Reports