Unusual tissue damage in the forearm caused by glass: a case report

Penetrating injuries of the forearm are relatively frequently seen in hand surgeon’s practice. They are typically caused by a knife or other sharp tool which drives deeply into the forearm muscles and frequently damages nerves or vessels. In this paper, we report a case of a young man with a forearm wound in which a piece of glass on the palmar side passed through the muscles and the interosseous membrane to the dorsal side and caused extensor tendons injury. The glass object was seen in the X-ray. The wound was inspected in the operating theatre and injured tendons were repaired. The postoperative course was uneventful. This case shows that surgeon must be very cautious in assessing penetrating injuries due to the possibility of damage to structures localized beyond the entry wound.