Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat It IsList of Common InjuriesTreatmentFirst AidHealingFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What It Is
List of Common Injuries
Treatment
First Aid
Healing
Frequently Asked Questions
Avulsionsare severe traumatic injuries where one or more pieces of tissue are torn or detached from the body, including at leastall three layers of skin. These injuries are more serious than lacerations (cuts), but they are less serious than traumatic amputations, when a finger or limb is completely cut from the body.
This article will cover the causes of avulsions and how they’re treated. You’ll also learn how to take care of your wound during your recovery from an avulsion injury.
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What Is an Avulsion Wound?
An avulsion injury goes through all the layers of skin. You might be able to lift up a flap of tissue that is still connected, or the tissue could be detached from the body. If the section of avulsed tissue is available and healthy enough, it can sometimes be repaired.
If the avulsed tissue is not available or too damaged, the injury is often treated like aburnwhere layers of skin have been severely damaged or lost.
Degloving
An avulsion that wraps all the way around an extremity and causes the layers of tissue to pull away is called a degloving injury.The name comes from the image of peeling a glove off your hand so that it ends up inside-out.
Degloving can affect any part of the body, including the fingers, feet, or hands. A common cause of degloving is when a ring catches on something and the skin or surrounding tissue of the finger is pulled off. Some degloving injuries lead to surgical amputations.
Avulsions and degloving injuries will almost always need surgical care to heal properly. Avulsions take a long time to heal and always need medical attention.
List of Common Avulsion Injuries and Sites
An avulsion injury can happen in different areas of the body.Avulsion fracturesare the most common avulsion injuries. It happens when an injury causes soft tissue (ligament or tendon) to break off a piece of bone it’s attached to.
Examples of common avulsion injuries include:
An avulsion injury will usually cause severe pain and bleeding. Depending on how severe the injury is, nerves can also be damaged, which may keep a person from feeling pain.
How Is an Avulsion Wound Treated?
Avulsion injuries may need:
An avulsion fracture, or bone avulsion injury, usually requires rest, ice, and potentially physical therapy. It does not usually require surgery.
If you get an avulsion injury, you may have other injuries like lacerations that also need to be treated and given time to heal.
How to Treat a Deep Cut Laceration
First Aid for an Avulsion
A person with an avulsion injury needs immediate medical attention, but while you are waiting for help to arrive there are some things you can do.
Here are the steps for performing first aid for an avulsion injury:
When to Call 911Avulsions and all degloving injuries are serious emergencies that require immediate medical attention.
When to Call 911
Avulsions and all degloving injuries are serious emergencies that require immediate medical attention.
How to Control Bleeding
Healing From an Avulsion
It takes time to heal from an avulsion injury. During your recovery, you may need to visit your healthcare provider often to have the wound dressing changed. They’ll also check the wound to make sure you aren’t having any complications, such as an infection.
You may also have instructions from your provider on the activity limitations you need to stick to so you can avoid making movements that could interfere with your healing.
Taking care of an avulsion wound at home includes:
Summary
An avulsion is a serious injury where tissues from the body, including three layers of skin, are torn off. You will usually need immediate medical attention for an avulsion. Treatment may include skin grafts or reattaching the skin. Healing will take time, so follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for keeping the wound clean, changing dressings, and watching for signs of infection.
An avulsion fracture is when a tendon or ligament pulls so hard on a bone that a piece of bone breaks off.
Common causes of an avulsion fracture involve injuries from playing contact sports like boxing, football, and lacrosse. These sports involve many forceful movements such as sprinting, kicking, leaping, suddenly starting or stopping, and more.
You should not drive right after an avulsion fracture when you still need emergency care. It is safer to have someone drive you to urgent care or the emergency department, or call for an ambulance.You might be able to drive while you are healing from an avulsion fracture if your healthcare provider says that it would be safe to do so.
You should not drive right after an avulsion fracture when you still need emergency care. It is safer to have someone drive you to urgent care or the emergency department, or call for an ambulance.
You might be able to drive while you are healing from an avulsion fracture if your healthcare provider says that it would be safe to do so.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res. 2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res.2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919Sakai G, Suzuki T, Hishikawa T, Shirai Y, Kurozumi T, Shindo M.Primary reattachment of avulsed skin flaps with negative pressure wound therapy in degloving injuries of the lower extremity.Injury.2017;48(1):137-141. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2016.10.026Liu H, Liu J, Wu Y, et al.Outcomes of tibial avulsion fracture of the posterior cruciate ligament treated with a homemade hook plate.Injury. 2021 Apr 20:S0020-1383(21)00351-X. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2021.04.042Zacharia B, Roy A.A clinicoradiological classification and a treatment algorithm for traumatic triceps tendon avulsion in adults.Chin J Traumatol.2021 Feb 27:S1008-1275(21)00031-6. doi:10.1016/j.cjtee.2021.02.008Schilders E, Mitchell AWM, Johnson R, Dimitrakopoulou A, Kartsonaki C, Lee JC.Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes.Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc.2020 Aug 6. doi:10.1007/s00167-020-06180-5Chen HJ, Feng K, Feng XF, Wang CG, Ma ZZ.Traumatic choroidal injuries - classification, incidence, diagnosis and prognosis twenty-year results of Eye Injury Vitrectomy Study.Acta Ophthalmol.2021 May;99(3):e387-e393. doi:10.1111/aos.14578Krishnamoorthy R, Karthikeyan G.Degloving injuries of the hand.Indian J Plast Surg. 2011;44(2):227-236. doi:10.4103/0970-0358.85344
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res. 2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res.2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919Sakai G, Suzuki T, Hishikawa T, Shirai Y, Kurozumi T, Shindo M.Primary reattachment of avulsed skin flaps with negative pressure wound therapy in degloving injuries of the lower extremity.Injury.2017;48(1):137-141. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2016.10.026Liu H, Liu J, Wu Y, et al.Outcomes of tibial avulsion fracture of the posterior cruciate ligament treated with a homemade hook plate.Injury. 2021 Apr 20:S0020-1383(21)00351-X. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2021.04.042Zacharia B, Roy A.A clinicoradiological classification and a treatment algorithm for traumatic triceps tendon avulsion in adults.Chin J Traumatol.2021 Feb 27:S1008-1275(21)00031-6. doi:10.1016/j.cjtee.2021.02.008Schilders E, Mitchell AWM, Johnson R, Dimitrakopoulou A, Kartsonaki C, Lee JC.Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes.Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc.2020 Aug 6. doi:10.1007/s00167-020-06180-5Chen HJ, Feng K, Feng XF, Wang CG, Ma ZZ.Traumatic choroidal injuries - classification, incidence, diagnosis and prognosis twenty-year results of Eye Injury Vitrectomy Study.Acta Ophthalmol.2021 May;99(3):e387-e393. doi:10.1111/aos.14578Krishnamoorthy R, Karthikeyan G.Degloving injuries of the hand.Indian J Plast Surg. 2011;44(2):227-236. doi:10.4103/0970-0358.85344
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res. 2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res.2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919Sakai G, Suzuki T, Hishikawa T, Shirai Y, Kurozumi T, Shindo M.Primary reattachment of avulsed skin flaps with negative pressure wound therapy in degloving injuries of the lower extremity.Injury.2017;48(1):137-141. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2016.10.026Liu H, Liu J, Wu Y, et al.Outcomes of tibial avulsion fracture of the posterior cruciate ligament treated with a homemade hook plate.Injury. 2021 Apr 20:S0020-1383(21)00351-X. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2021.04.042Zacharia B, Roy A.A clinicoradiological classification and a treatment algorithm for traumatic triceps tendon avulsion in adults.Chin J Traumatol.2021 Feb 27:S1008-1275(21)00031-6. doi:10.1016/j.cjtee.2021.02.008Schilders E, Mitchell AWM, Johnson R, Dimitrakopoulou A, Kartsonaki C, Lee JC.Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes.Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc.2020 Aug 6. doi:10.1007/s00167-020-06180-5Chen HJ, Feng K, Feng XF, Wang CG, Ma ZZ.Traumatic choroidal injuries - classification, incidence, diagnosis and prognosis twenty-year results of Eye Injury Vitrectomy Study.Acta Ophthalmol.2021 May;99(3):e387-e393. doi:10.1111/aos.14578Krishnamoorthy R, Karthikeyan G.Degloving injuries of the hand.Indian J Plast Surg. 2011;44(2):227-236. doi:10.4103/0970-0358.85344
Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res. 2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919
Sorg H, Tilkorn DJ, Hager S, Hauser J, Mirastschijski U.Skin wound healing: An update on the current knowledge and concepts.Eur Surg Res.2017;58(1-2):81-94. doi:10.1159/000454919
Sakai G, Suzuki T, Hishikawa T, Shirai Y, Kurozumi T, Shindo M.Primary reattachment of avulsed skin flaps with negative pressure wound therapy in degloving injuries of the lower extremity.Injury.2017;48(1):137-141. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2016.10.026
Liu H, Liu J, Wu Y, et al.Outcomes of tibial avulsion fracture of the posterior cruciate ligament treated with a homemade hook plate.Injury. 2021 Apr 20:S0020-1383(21)00351-X. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2021.04.042
Zacharia B, Roy A.A clinicoradiological classification and a treatment algorithm for traumatic triceps tendon avulsion in adults.Chin J Traumatol.2021 Feb 27:S1008-1275(21)00031-6. doi:10.1016/j.cjtee.2021.02.008
Schilders E, Mitchell AWM, Johnson R, Dimitrakopoulou A, Kartsonaki C, Lee JC.Proximal adductor avulsions are rarely isolated but usually involve injury to the PLAC and pectineus: descriptive MRI findings in 145 athletes.Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc.2020 Aug 6. doi:10.1007/s00167-020-06180-5
Chen HJ, Feng K, Feng XF, Wang CG, Ma ZZ.Traumatic choroidal injuries - classification, incidence, diagnosis and prognosis twenty-year results of Eye Injury Vitrectomy Study.Acta Ophthalmol.2021 May;99(3):e387-e393. doi:10.1111/aos.14578
Krishnamoorthy R, Karthikeyan G.Degloving injuries of the hand.Indian J Plast Surg. 2011;44(2):227-236. doi:10.4103/0970-0358.85344
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