AboutAlan M. Engler, MD, FACS Expertise Dr. Engler has answered over 2700 plastic surgery questions for Allexperts. His expertise is in cosmetic plastic surgery including breast surgery (breast enlargement with implants, breast reduction, breast lifts), liposuction, eyelid surgery, tummy tucks, facelifts etc.
Dr. Engler has been listed as one New York`s Top Doctors, and as "One of the World's Most Famous Aesthetic Surgeons" (Aesthetic Surgery, TASCHEN Books, Angelika Taschen, Editor). He is the author of 4 books, including "BodySculpture" (a best-selling plastic surgery book on breast surgery, liposuction and tummy tucks), "EyeScapes" (Plastic Surgery of the Eyelids), "Restylane," and "The Slim Book of Liposuction."
Dr. Engler has two US Patents for surgical instruments that he's designed, and has appeared on numerous television shows, including The Tyra Banks Show, The Ricki Lake Show (four times), and the Dr. Keith Ablow Show. Videos of his appearances are available on YouTube (SEARCH FOR "DR. ENGLER"). His website is www.bodysculpture.com.
Experience Dr. Alan Engler is a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York and the author of BodySculpture - Plastic Surgery of the Body for Men and Women (ISBN 0966382749) one of the top-selling plastic surgery books on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, etc.
Education/Credentials Dr. Engler graduated from Yale University (undergraduate) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (medical school). He did his residency training in General Surgery and, after that, Plastic Surgery, at the Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
Question About 1-2 months ago a piece of glass almost shaped like splinter became stuck in my finger when I was repairing a broken window, I quickly removed it. Well it healed but I still feel glass poking when I pick or grab something and its painful to the extent I quickly drop whatever it is I'm picking up or grabbing. My question is, Will I eventually have to get it cut out, is it possible for a doctor to find it? Or, will my body eventually reject it and create an opening for it (since the outside has healed)? Thanks so much for helping.
Answer from Dr. Alan Engler
www.bodysculpture.com
Hi Allie,
The answer is - maybe.
It is certainly possible for a foreign body lodged under the skin - typically a wooden splinter - to work its way out. A lot depends on how deep it is, how thick the skin is over the foreign body (thicker skin is obviously harder to penetrate than thinner), how sharp the object is, etc. You can, in general, wait a certain amount of time, but if symptoms persist or increase, as appears to be the case here, you should consider having it removed. You may have removed only a portion of what was in you, even though it looked like the whole thing.
You may be able to see it on an x-ray. Whereas wooden splinters do not typically show up on an x-ray, there is sometimes enough lead or other radiopaque materials in glass so that they will show up on an x-ray. So you should have an x-ray to see what's there.
It also may not show up. That may be because there isn't anything radiopaque in whatever's in you, or it could be because what you're actually feeling is some scar tissue. In general, though, that should soften up and get better over time.
Finally, even if you see it on an x-ray, it can be very tricky to remove small pieces of things under the skin. It can actually be hard to find them, even when they're visible on the films.
Since you're still having symptoms, you may want to consider a visit to a doctor and an x-ray. Then, if it seems like it's easily accessible, you may want to have it removed. If it seems too deep for now, it may actually work itself into a more superficial position where, at that point, it will be accessible.
I hope that all this info helps (rather than confuses...) and good luck,
