Injuries of the hand and forearm in young children caused by steam roller presses in laundries

Abstract

Fourteen children (median age 43 months, range 14–82 months; 7 girls and 7 boys) were treated for mangle injuries (one hot steam, and 13 cold, roller presses) to the hand and forearm between 1996–2002 at the Department of Hand Surgery, Malmö, Sweden. All children had unilateral skin damage with avulsion or necrosis of skin in nine. Seven of the 14 had signs of compartment and carpal tunnel syndromes and three had fractures (phalanges or hamate bone). Initial treatment included fasciotomy, decompression, and skin revision with split skin grafts and later further skin cover, including one pedicled ulnar flap. In eight the injuries healed uneventfully, while six had slight consequences (such as minor extension deficit of fingers or slight contracture of the scar). Ten of the 14 children came from immigrant families. Mangle injuries can be prevented through better supervision of children by parents when the mangle is being used, and dissemination of information of the potential hazards in relevant languages in residential areas with large immigrant populations.

• Mangle
• hand injury
• compression
• avulsion
• compartment syndromes
• prevention