News

Seasonal Hand Injuries are On the Rise, Yet Can
Be Avoided With Proper Use of Snowblowers

Southlake Regional Health Centre offers advice for on-the-spot treatment of finger injuries to minimize damage prior to emergency room arrival

Newmarket, Ontario – December 11, 2008 – Toronto’s early winter has brought with it more than snow.  It has also resulted in an early start to hand injuries caused by snowblowers.

“Each year, hundreds of people suffer maiming or amputations of their fingers or hands by not handling snowblowers properly,” said Dr. William Andrade, Division Chief of Plastic Surgery at Southlake Regional Health Centre. The hand program started treating patients for snowblower injuries as early as last month – a record for the hospital. Southlake’s acclaimed hand program brings together orthopaedic and plastic surgeons, occupational therapists and physiotherapists to treat acute injuries and manage their post-operative hand therapy.

According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, there were three times as many snowblower injuries last year than in 2006.  Most of those injuries resulted in fractures and amputations – and an early rise in this year’s numbers is a concern, said Dr. Andrade.

Hand accidents caused by snowblowers most often occur when the user of the machine tries to dislodge snow or ice that is caught around the blades.  What most people do not know is that there is a recoil of the auger in the snowblower causing this traumatic injury to occur even once the snowblower has been turned off.  With a recovery period that can take several months of surgery and therapy, such accidents are easily avoidable by turning off and unplugging the snowblower and removing objects with a stick or broom handle and not with hands or fingers, said Ilana Levovski, Hand Occupational Therapist at Southlake.

Snowblowers are recognized as the fourth leading cause of finger amputations in North America, after power tools, door finger jams and disease.

In the event of a hand accident resulting from a snowblower, Southlake offers these suggestions to temporarily treat the wound prior to arriving at the emergency room:

• Call 911 immediately;
  
  
• Place a clean, sterile dressing on the wound and apply firm pressure to control bleeding;
  
  
• In the event of an amputation, bring the severed finger to the hospital with you.  The digit should be wrapped in moist gauze and placed in a clear plastic bag. The bag should then be placed on ice;
  
  
• Rest and elevate the wounded limb.

“I was caught off guard when my fingers got jammed in my snowblower because I thought the machine was off,” said Dane Mutic of Newmarket, who was trying to unclog his slowblower with his hand when the accident occurred in late November.  Mutic – an MRI technologist who is now off of work for eight weeks as a result of the accident – experienced several broken bones and required a significant amount of stitches and pins to treat his fingers. Therapy will follow after a three-week period.  “I was wearing gloves so that probably helped reduce the damage, but the injury was still pretty bad and painful.”

“People tend to minimize the severity of hand-related accidents, but in reality, they are among the most difficult to treat and most often patients never recover full, normal use of the hand,” said Dr. Andrade. “The best treatment of all is prevention.”

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