Hair Tourniquet ( 2 фото )

A 6-month-old girl was brought to the emergency department with a 3-day history of redness and swelling of a toe. On physical examination, the left fourth toe was swollen and tender to palpation. Several hair strands were seen tangled around the digit. A circumferential ring was seen to be constricting the middle phalanx of the toe, which was cyanotic distal to the ring (Panels A and B). A diagnosis of hair tourniquet was made. This condition is characterized by a tightly wound hair or thread coiled around an appendage, most commonly a toe. The constriction may lead to pain, swelling, and ultimately ischemia. Treatment of a superficial tourniquet involves application of a chemical depilatory agent or manual removal of the hair. Surgery may be required for deeper tourniquets or when uncertainty remains about complete removal of all the involved hairs. In this case, attempts at mechanical removal did not completely remove all the hairs. Subsequent surgical exploration resulted in complete removal of the hairs, which had been embedded to the depth of the tendon. Postoperative wound care was performed at the patient’s home. At 21 days after surgery, the toe was healing well (Panel C).
Anton Ivan Moorees, M.D. , and Dirk Vervloessem, M.D.
Published May 14, 2025
N Engl J Med 2025;392: e44
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMicm2416174
VOL. 392 NO. 19


Синдром волосяного жгута