RESEARCH ARTICLE
Bite Injuries to the Hand - Review of the Literature
Pradyumna Raval 1, Wasim Khan 2, Behrooz Haddad 2, Anant Narayan Mahapatra*, 1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2014Volume: 8
Issue: Suppl 1
First Page: 204
Last Page: 208
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-8-204
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001408010204
Article History:
Received Date: 1/3/2014Revision Received Date: 5/4/2014
Acceptance Date: 10/4/2014
Electronic publication date: 27 /6/2014
Collection year: 2014

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/) which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Patients presenting to the emergency department with bite injuries to the hand sustain them through a number of causes including domesticated as well as stray animal bites, and human bites commonly sustained as a result of violence. The nature of the injuries sustained can be very deceptive. A small tooth mark on the exterior can be a fulminant infection in the tissues deeper down. Tendon injuries, fractures of the metacarpals and phalanges and management of the wound are critical issues faced by a surgeon in dealing with such patients. Similarly the less common bite injuries to the hand, often with disastrous and sometimes fatal complications, do also present to the emergency department. A high incidence of suspicion is needed in dealing with these injuries effectively. In our article we discuss the common as well as uncommon causes of bite injuries to the hand and their management. In addition to reviewing the literature to ascertain the management of such injuries, we also discuss interesting and rare case reports.