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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Splint Placed In Finger After Cut By Knife. Can MRI Be Done With Metal Splint In Place?

I cut my pinky with a knife while cooking. Did not go to get stitches right away but later saw a doctor who prescribed antibiotics and referred me to a hand doctor. Saw her yesterday and she had a splint put on my finger which I cannot remove for 6 weeks. However, she wants me to have an MRI to rule out an internal infection as she saw something on the x-ray. I will be going to get the MRI in a couple of days. Can they take an MRI with the metal splint in place?

Also, my finger hurts since I got the splint on. Is that to be expected?
Wed, 5 Jun 2013
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Pathologist and Microbiologist,  's  Response
Hello and welcome to HCM,

I will provide you a brief overview of injury and its management.
Any injury a blunt injury or injury by sharps requires debridement (cleaning) and application of antibiotic.
If the skin has ruptured, prompt closure with sutures (stitches) is required.
After suturing, antibiotics and analgesics (painkillers) have to be administered for a couple of days.
Hand infections have to be monitored carefully because if the infection reaches deeper tissue, it spreads throughout the hand.
The deeper tissue of hand communicates with each other and this is the reason for the rapid spread of infection.
Its presence has to be looked after and measures to remove it should be undertaken as soon as possible.
A MRI can identify any infectious focus in the deeper tissue of the hand.
No metal piece should be present at the time of MRI.
The radiologist will take care of the splint before MRI so do not worry about that.
Pain is expected for few days after suturing. You can take painkillers for the pain.

Thanks and take care
Dr Shailja P Wahal


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Splint Placed In Finger After Cut By Knife. Can MRI Be Done With Metal Splint In Place?

Hello and welcome to HCM, I will provide you a brief overview of injury and its management. Any injury a blunt injury or injury by sharps requires debridement (cleaning) and application of antibiotic. If the skin has ruptured, prompt closure with sutures (stitches) is required. After suturing, antibiotics and analgesics (painkillers) have to be administered for a couple of days. Hand infections have to be monitored carefully because if the infection reaches deeper tissue, it spreads throughout the hand. The deeper tissue of hand communicates with each other and this is the reason for the rapid spread of infection. Its presence has to be looked after and measures to remove it should be undertaken as soon as possible. A MRI can identify any infectious focus in the deeper tissue of the hand. No metal piece should be present at the time of MRI. The radiologist will take care of the splint before MRI so do not worry about that. Pain is expected for few days after suturing. You can take painkillers for the pain. Thanks and take care Dr Shailja P Wahal