Fishhook Removal

[BrentB]

Informative article from American Family Physicians

Fishing is a common recreational sport. While serious injuries are uncommon, penetrating tissue trauma involving fishhooks frequently occurs. Most of these injuries are minor and can be treated in the office without difficulty. All fishhook injuries require careful evaluation of surrounding tissue before attempting removal. Ocular involvement should prompt immediate referral to an ophthalmologist. The four most common techniques of fishhook removal and injury management are described in this article. The choice of the method for fishhook removal depends on the type of fishhook embedded, the location of the injury and the depth of tissue penetration. Occasionally, more than one removal technique may be required for removal of the fishhook. The retrograde technique is the simplest but least successful removal method, while the traditional advance and cut method is most effective for removing fishhooks that are embedded close to the skin surface. The advance and cut technique is almost always successful, even for removal of large fishhooks. The string-yank method can be used in the field and can often be performed without anesthesia. Wound care following successful removal involves extraction of foreign bodies from the wound and the application of a simple dressing. Prophylactic antibiotics are generally not indicated. Tetanus status should be assessed and toxoid administered if needed.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0601/p2231.html

 

[hambone]

Informative article from American Family Physicians

Fishing is a common recreational sport. While serious injuries are uncommon, penetrating tissue trauma involving fishhooks frequently occurs. Most of these injuries are minor and can be treated in the office without difficulty. All fishhook injuries require careful evaluation of surrounding tissue before attempting removal. Ocular involvement should prompt immediate referral to an ophthalmologist. The four most common techniques of fishhook removal and injury management are described in this article. The choice of the method for fishhook removal depends on the type of fishhook embedded, the location of the injury and the depth of tissue penetration. Occasionally, more than one removal technique may be required for removal of the fishhook. The retrograde technique is the simplest but least successful removal method, while the traditional advance and cut method is most effective for removing fishhooks that are embedded close to the skin surface. The advance and cut technique is almost always successful, even for removal of large fishhooks. The string-yank method can be used in the field and can often be performed without anesthesia. Wound care following successful removal involves extraction of foreign bodies from the wound and the application of a simple dressing. Prophylactic antibiotics are generally not indicated. Tetanus status should be assessed and toxoid administered if needed.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0601/p2231.html

Yep, totally agree :roll: Don't ask me how I know this. :sad

 

[hardee]

Not being a fisherman (yet) but after spending 20 plus years with much of that in the ER, I believe I have seen all of the mentioned methods used at one time or another, all eventually successfully.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[Spike]

If you really want to find out the proper way to remove a fish hook from human flesh, than you must read Patrick McManus's short story on the subject.

 

[thataway]

I always keep a good pair of diagonal cutters handy when fishing--shore, dinghy or boat. I have also managed to embed fishhooks in my own flesh when alone, back packing or sailing. I have always used the advance and cut method, with good success. The other methods are more difficult to do "solo". I have used all methods at one time or another.

I also have had to remove a treble hook from one of my Lab's nose in the distant past…

One worry is always contamination of the wound. I like to cleanse the fish hook and wound, with hydrogen peroxide, or Betadine solution before doing the advance, and after the point is cut off.

Be sure and watch for infection afterward. There are some very nasty bacterium in coastal waters… I also carry a package of #11 X-acto blades and a small handle (lacking a free supply of scalpel blades these days)
I clean the blades with alcohol and Betadine solution before use.

 

[Hunkydory]

Even though, I'm not much of a fisherman & maybe that's the why of my having had several very uncomfortable encounters with the sharp end of the hooks. The worst occurred in 1994 on a canoe trip on Yellowstone Lake with my youngest son. In our week long trip around the lake, we had made it to Promontory Point, which in a canoe is a very difficult or even impossible place to exit from for any kind of quick outside help, especially at just before dark & that's when I managed to imbed two points of a treble #6 hook deep into my right cheek, while trying to cast around a bush semi blocking the way. Without a mirror to enable me to try to remove it, the job fell to my 16 year old son. We soon found it wasn't coming out without the points being separated & I can still feel the sting when the wire cutters we were fortunate to have made the clips. Jayson, that's my youngest son's name, then tried to push the points through, but found the skin on my cheek to tough, so then heated a blade on a sharp tipped pocket knife & used the retrograde method along with cutting paths for the barbs. I found it very difficult to hold still while he cut & pulled, though the knowledge of how much worse things could get if I didn't hold still & my videoing him doing it helped considerably. It healed up very quickly during the rest of the trip & I had a much better sleep that night then if we would have delayed the process. Of course if we had been fishing with barbless hooks as park regulations required it would have been much easier on both of us. One thing for sure, I was very proud & appreciative of my teenage son's handling of this situation.

Jay