We have developed a simple, cheap and efficient method of management of fingertip injury using a semi-occlusive dressing ("Opsite"--Smith and Nephew). The fingertip is covered with the "Opsite" once a week only. The dressing provides a temporary "skin", making the finger painless. This semi-occlusive "skin" allows the healing environment to reach an optimal milieu (e.g. pH, oxygen, tension, immunoagents) actively promoting granulation tissue formation and epithelialization. The result of 200 fingertip injuries treated with this method proves the development of a near normal pulp shape and useful epithelium within an average of 20 days.

Rinsing rat femoral arteries with various fluids in experimental conditions similar to those in clinical practice was found to have deleterious effects on the intimal and medial layers of the vessels. No statistically significant difference was found between the effects of Ringer’s lactate and normal saline. Heparinized saline produced significantly less damage to the medial layer and less platelet cell deposition. Lignocaine 2% was found to be extremely damaging to the whole vessel wall, and highly thrombogenic. Nevertheless, all the arteries in each group remained patent 4 days after rinsing.