The recent study, published by Dr Parag Lad – Consultant Hand Surgeon in The Journal of Hand Surgery, found that chronic constriction caused by a stuck ring is a serious problem as it can lead to tissue damage, nerve damage, necrosis of skin and even infection of the finger and ultimately may land up in amputation. Timely intervention may be important to prevent further damage.

Dr Parag Lad, Consultant Hand & Reconstructive Microsurgeon and Director of Pinnacle Orthocenter, Thane said “A ring is the most common ornament in many customs and religions. It is traditionally worn as a symbol of love during engagement/ wedding or as decorative jewellery. Due to swelling of the finger, those metal ring compress the nerves, which negatively impact the tissues in the swollen fingers. Hence, it must be removed immediately before they threaten finger’s viability.”

“But a person with a religion thoughts, psychological illness or addictions avoid or refuse to remove the ring and due to gradual tightening of ring stuck into finger is difficult to cut and it results in infection of skin. In such situation, ring causes severe deformity of fingers raising the risk of amputation,” Added by Dr Lad.

A 45-year-old man presented with a ring embedded in his dominant right thumb. He gave a history of sustaining some blunt trauma to the right thumb 3 weeks earlier and subsequent swelling of the thumb followed by a wound and foul-smelling discharge. His thumb was numb and cold to touch and he had difficulty in moving it. On examination, the right thumb was swollen and the ring was embedded in the thumb. The patient was counselled forsurgery. There was chronic inflammation, and the blood supply was compromised. Fortunately, there were no signs of bone infection. Thumb reconstruction surgery was planned for the patient. The unhealthy and infected soft tissue was removed for the wound to heal. The wound was left open and dressed in moist gauze and a thumb spica slab was applied after surgery. During the second stage of surgery, the thumb nerves were reconstructed along with a soft tissue cover. His thumb function improved after 6 months on final follow-up.