Edmund Owen

“ More often, however, they make their way to the periosteum of the last bone of the finger, and involve it in a devastating inflammation which may end in death (necrosis) of the bone. Sometimes the germs find their way into the tendon-sheath, and, spreading into the palm of the hand, cause a deep abscess with, perhaps, sloughing of the tendon, and leaving a permanently stiffened finger. In some cases amputation of the finger is eventually called for. Whitlow is especially apt to occur in people who are out of health, as in them the micro-organisms of the disease meet with less resistance. ”

“ The local treatment of whitlow demands a free incision into the area in which the germs are undergoing cultivation, and the sooner that this is done the better. It is wrong to wait for an abscess to be formed. ”