Author(s)

Sa’adatu Usman, Srujana Parupalli, Amith Pinto, Nicholas Neal, Fidelma O’Mahony

University Hospital of North Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

Anecdotally, obstetricians have been known to sustain physical injuries whilst assisting deliveries but these are not always reported. This case describes how a mallet finger deformity was sustained by a consultant obstetrician whilst attempting to deliver a fetus with shoulder dystocia. Although this is a rare type of injury, it had significant impact on the consultant’s ability to provide clinical care for some time. Disruptions in service provision have direct financial consequences to the healthcare system. This case report highlights the importance of reporting these injuries at the workplace.

Shoulder Dystocia; Mallet Finger; Occupational Injuries

Usman, S. , Parupalli, S. , Pinto, A. , Neal, N. and O’Mahony, F. (2012) Obstetrician injury whilst managing a shoulder dystocia: A case report. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2, 62-63. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2012.21011.