Splinter injuries may be treatable at home, however, larger deeper splinter removal is requiring a medical attention to put them off. In the superficial or subcutaneous tissues, splinters present as foreign bodies embedded in the tissues. Immediate removal must be done, especially for reactive objects, to prevent swelling and inflammation. A thorough inspection and palpating the area, superficial horizontal splinters usually appear visible. A horizontal splinter is exposed completely through incising the pores and skin throughout the long axis of the splinter and removed via lifting it out with forceps. Through a v-shaped excision on the nail, a subungual splinter may be eliminated. Imaging modalities may be utilized for better zone identification of an elusive splinter. Splinters which are close to important structures such as vital organs should be advised for removal.
Splinters are not unusual in kids and adults, most often manifesting as a foreign body lodged within the superficial or subcutaneous soft tissues of the extremities. Wood, glass, and metal splinters are the most frequently acquired foreign bodies. Most superficial splinters can be removed by the patients themselves, leaving to physicians only the deeper and large splinters, or retained splinters which have broken down in the course of an attempt of removal. Complications which arise if the splinter is not removed completely may include infection, inflammation, and granuloma formation. Even after a foreign body has been found and excised, the physician must make sure that there is no remnant left in the wound. The doctor must also be careful in telling the affected person that the splinter is eliminated. It may be most suitable to tell the affected person that each one of the visible splinters has been removed, but there’s always a risk that small pieces can be present which might be undetectable at that time.
