Traumatic Amputation of Finger From an Alligator Snapping Turtle Bite

Legend states that the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) should be handled with extreme caution as it has jaw strength powerful enough to bite a wooden broomstick in half. Tales of bite injuries from what is the largest freshwater turtle in North America exist anecdotally, yet there...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inWilderness & environmental medicine Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 277 - 281
Main Authors Johnson, Robert D., MD, Nielsen, Cynthia L., MD
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA Elsevier Inc 01.06.2016
SAGE Publications
Subjects
Adolescent
amputation
Amputation, Traumatic
animal bites
Animals
Bites and Stings
Emergency
Finger Injuries - drug therapy
Finger Injuries - surgery
Fingers - surgery
Humans
postexposure prophylaxis
Turtles
postexposure prophylaxis
turtles
amputation
animal bites
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Legend states that the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) should be handled with extreme caution as it has jaw strength powerful enough to bite a wooden broomstick in half. Tales of bite injuries from what is the largest freshwater turtle in North America exist anecdotally, yet there are few descriptions of medical encounters for such. The risk of infection from reptilian bites to the hand in an aquatic environment warrants thorough antibiotic treatment in conjunction with hand surgery consultation. We present the first case report of a near total amputation of an index finger in an adolescent boy who had been bitten by a wild “gator snapper.”
Bibliography:ObjectType-Case Study-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-4
content type line 23
ObjectType-Report-1
ObjectType-Article-3
ISSN:1080-6032
1545-1534
DOI:10.1016/j.wem.2016.02.003