Thumb in the table saw. Warning - pictures

[GPintheMitten]

Well it happened to me last night. I ripped a 2 foot 1 x 4. After the cut, I started to gingerly slide each piece back toward me being cautious.
The problem was I had a marker pen in my left palm sticking out. The pen hit the blade and pulled my thumb into the blade.

It didn't get completely cut off. It was cut between the last joint and the thumb nail, through the bone, leaving only about 33% intact.

5 hours at the hospital, mostly waiting for such things as ex rays and the orthopedic specialists to get to me. They cleaned it up, sewed it up and then bandaged it and.put a splint on it.

Monday I go to the hand surgeon for an eval. The thumb tip may be ok as is or it may need surgery or it may need to be removed. We'll just have to wait and see.

Stupid, stupid mistake.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Here are some pics after stiches. the before pics are pretty gross.

 

[George2615]

Sorry to hear about your accident but glad you are OK.
I know the feeling. I had an accident at work about 3 months ago. I was slicing through a piece of 2" flexible hose on a fountain pump with my pocket knife. Holding hose with left hand, cutting with right when knife hit a weak spot in the hose, slid out of the hose and through my left pointer finger. Mine required 10 stitches. I never felt it until I saw the blood. Knife is very sharp. Finger is all healed now but no feeling in the tip since the nerves were cut. Doctor stitching me up had a hard time due to callused fingers. Kept mumbling about working man hands. I'm sure you must have also cut through the nerves in that thumb.

 

[Looking4new]

That surely sux, but it is a nasty reminder to you to use a piece of scrap as a PUSHER and keep your dam digits away from the blade.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Absolutely. I keep replaying it in my mind about how stupid it was.

 

[murphy1244]

Glad your okay GP.

 

[Looking4new]

It could have been much worse.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Thanks for the well wishes guys. Yes, it could have been much worse.

 

[bumperm]

Ouch!

Sorry that painful lesson happened. I've done that as well, though not so serious. Had those anti-kickback pawls on, piece of wood got stuck, stupidly went to lift the pawl instead of turning off the saw (a pain to do with one hand holding the wood in place) and my thumb touched the side of the blade. It was a cabide blade with teeth protruding to the side (fairly wide kerf) and my thumb touched the side of the teeth so the blade pulled by thumb in and then kicked *it* back throwing my fist back so I punched myself in the stomach. I felt ill and was almost afraid to look. Cut away most of the pad of my thumb and sliced into the nail pretty good, but didn't hit the bone. Got stitched up - was very fortunate.

My problem was getting to be too complacent.

 

[Looking4new]

My Dad always told me, 'familiarity breeds contempt'.

My neighbour across the road cut off her little finger at the knuckle before the nail, her ring finger at the second knuckle and the middle finger at the second knuckle when she turned away from the saw before it was stopped and lost her balance. She stuck out her hand to steady herself and ran into the spinning blade. That was 4 years ago and she is just now getting the full use of her hand, less those parts of her fingers.