Penetrating facial injury from angle grinder use: management and prevention

Injuries resulting from the use of angle grinders are numerous. The most common sites injured are the head and face. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance Systems (HASS/LASS) data collected from 2000 to 2002 showed that angle grinders were third in their top ten list of most dangerous tools, with an average of 5,400 injuries recorded yearly [1]. The increasing number of recorded angle grinder injuries during three consecutive years (2000 to 2002) reported in the HASS/LASS data is alarming. The vast majority of facial injuries are associated with foreign body penetration following shattering of the abrasive wheel. Open facial wounds are much less common, but can be very disfiguring, Table 1. We present a series of three penetrating facial wounds associated with angle grinder use.Case 1 occurred when a left-handed, 26 year old male was injured as the blade of the angle grinder he was using shattered at high speed. He sustained deep wounds to his right upper lip, nasal base and left cheek, Fig 1. These wounds contained particulate matter from the abrasive wheel, requiring fastidious debridement. The wounds were debrided and closed in layers, under local anaesthetic. He recovered well post operatively and was discharged from clinic 12 months later, Fig 2.Case 2 occurred when a right-handed, 40 year old male was injured when the angle grinder he was using kicked back from the edge of a wooden plank. He sustained an open soft tissue wound involving the right upper lip, philtrum and nasal tip, Fig 3. Again the wounds were contaminated with material from the abrasive wheel and also the wooden plank. His wounds were debrided, carefully and closed in layers under general anaesthesia. He recovered well post operatively and was discharged from clinic 9 months later, Fig 4.Case 3 occurred when a right-handed, 43 year old male was injured when the angle grinder he was using kicked up from the edge of a flag stone. The gua