Bear attack injuries including canalicular lacerations and amputated finger: report of 2 cases

Abstract

We report on two cases of bear attack injuries involving a nasal fracture, canalicular laceration, and an amputated finger. Emergency surgeries, including wound washing, canaliculus repair, and amputated finger replantation, were performed. In one case, canalicular laceration was detected six months post-operatively, which required multiple re-operations. In another case, the post-operative course of the replanted finger was uneventful for the first 10 days; however, necrosis occurred suddenly on post-operative day 11 and required additional surgery. Our cases suggest that we should carefully assess for canalicular laceration in the setting of facial injury on arrival, and that for amputated finger injury by bear attack, observation after replantation surgery should be longer than typically recommended in previously reported cases.