Gangrene of the hand, wrist and fingers in a new born child- an unusual rare case, Dr Alexander, Plastic surgeon, cosmetic surgeon, hand surgery, hand gangrene, finger gangrene, neonatal gangrene, plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery, cochin, kochi, kerala, India++

Gangrene in a new born child is an uncommon and rare event. The picture above is that of a newborn child who was born with gangrene of his left hand, wrist and fingers. However it does happen sometime and can be very devastating for the family to see their new born child loose a limb, an arm or a leg from gangrene. A review of the medical literature shows that upper limb gangrene is more common as compared to lower limbs. While it may be difficult to diagnose the exact reason, a number of causes can predispose to gangrene in the newborn child like:

Sepsis

prematurity

hyper-coagulable state

thermal abnormality

umbilical artery cannulation

polycythemia

arterial thrombosis

maternal diabetes

intravenous hyperosmolar infusions

Abnormal fetal presentation with extremity compression causing loss of blood circulation in a limb

Arterial occlusion due to normal obliteration of ductus arteriosus or umbilical arteries

While the condition can be a very traumatic experience, wherever possible, one must wait for a definite demarcation to appear between the dead and normal tissues before planning an amputation or removal of the dead part. Also one must plan the amputation so as to preserve the growth plates if this is possible so that an adequate stump can be obtained for prosthetic fitting as the child grows+