Citation

Detanac D, Marovac S, Sengul I, Detanac D, Sengul D, Cinar E, Muratovic S. Cureus 2022; 14(9): e29085.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Curēus)

DOI

10.7759/cureus.29085

PMID

36258962

PMCID

PMC9559177

Abstract

Frostbite is a cold injury that predominantly affects homeless or intoxicated people, adventurers, and soldiers. It can lead to both superficial tissue damage and tissue necrosis to amputation; thereby leading to significant patient morbidity and disability. The most affected parts of the body for cold injuries are toes, fingers, and exposed facial parts. Of note, these injuries are relatively frequent in the colder climate part of the world, but they can also occur in regions with a warmer climate, during the winter months. We present a vignette case of a 40-year-old male admitted to the department of surgery with severe frostbite lesions on both hands and feet. The aforementioned injury occurred a few months ago, during the winter. During the first hospitalization, immediately after the injury, the patient was initially admitted and treated with conservative therapy with a multidisciplinary approach, to which he did not respond well. To this end, amputation was indicated, which the patient refused. At that time, the patient stopped the treatment and left the hospital. Five months after the injury, he agreed to the amputation treatment. Mummification of fingers of both hands and whole feet was present at the time of the last hospitalization. Amputation was performed with full patient recovery. Better knowledge of frostbite might help in better treatment of the cases.

Language: en

Keywords

surgery; amputation; cold injury; frostbite; histopathology; pathology; surgical pathology