A repositioning technique for nasal fracture using the little finger.

A nasal bone fracture is usually repositioned using either Walsham or Asch forceps. However, accurate repositioning is often difficult. We therefore performed a repositioning technique using the little finger in 10 patients with a new nasal fracture. The results were satisfactory in all of the patients. Although medical experts may consider our method to be primitive, we believe that our method is both safe and effective, because the operator can recognize both the fractured part and its actual condition using the little finger. With this method, the occurrence of unnecessary new fractures can be prevented, in addition to minimizing the degree of mucosal damage and the occurrence of nasal hemorrhage. Furthermore, we consider that this technique can also reduce the occurrence of postoperative deformities due to the reduced mucosal contracture with this treatment modality. Even if the use of an instrument is deemed necessary, such as in treating saddle-nose-type fractures, initially feeling the fracture with the little finger will still allow for a more precise fracture reduction. We therefore consider our method to be both safe and effective at the initial stage of diagnosis and for the treatment of patients presenting with nasal bone fractures.