Traumatic fifth finger amputation due to pontoon boat railing design

Background: Boating is a common recreational activity that may subject its participants to specific patterns of injury.

Objectives: We describe two unrelated cases of fifth-finger amputation associated with a specific pontoon boat guardrail design.

Case report: The individuals in these cases sustained an avulsion-type amputation injury to the fifth finger when their fingers became entrapped in a narrowed portion of the boat railing before jumping into the water.

Conclusions: Given the widespread use of this type of recreational boat, this apparent design flaw may place additional individuals at risk of significant hand injury with cosmetic and functional loss. Methods to reduce the public health impact of this type of injury are also discussed.