TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Subungual Hematoma A1 - Mayeaux, Jr., E.J. A2 - Usatine, Richard P. A2 - Smith, Mindy A. A2 - Mayeaux, Jr., E.J. A2 - Chumley, Heidi S. PY - 2019 T2 - The Color Atlas and Synopsis of Family Medicine, 3e AB - A 22-year-old woman dropped an iron on her toe the day before she visited our free clinic. Her toe was painful at rest and worse when walking (Figure 204-1). This subungual hematoma needed to be drained, and we did not have an electrocautery unit. A paperclip was bent open and held in a hemostat and heated with a torch. With some pressure it pierced the patient's nail plate and the blood spontaneously drained (Figures 204-2 and 204-3). This relieved the pressure and gave the patient immediate pain relief. The remaining old blood was drained with a little pressure on the proximal nail fold (Figure 204-4). Although we were concerned about a possible underlying fracture, the patient did not have health insurance and chose to postpone an X-ray. Her toe healed well and no radiographs were ever taken. (Story by Richard P. Usatine, MD.) SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1164348493 ER -