Kavanel Revisited – Hand Infections At the Turn of the Century

Abstract

By the use of dissections and ingenious experiments, Allen Kavanel clarified how hand infections spread along the various tissues and planes. This work enabled him to determine the best incisions to drain each type of infection and how to prevent its spread. Earlier, very little was known about how infections spread in the hand. Infections were often treated medically for long periods. Incision and drainage, when they were performed, in many cases were inadequate and focused in the wrong place. Even trivial infections often led to stiff useless digits or hands. Amputation and death were not unusual in the more serious infections. Representative cases are presented from Kavanel's classic textbook Infections of the Hand, published in 1912.