Hair Thread Tourniquet Syndrome in an Infant: Emergency Exploration Saves Limbs

Hair thread tourniquet syndrome (HTTS) is a rare condition where fibres constrict around appendages causing ischaemia and necrosis. It is a sporadically reported condition, where almost all reported cases showed involvement of fingers, toes or genitalia. A significant number of the cases are infants aged two weeks to six months where it is attributed to the mother’s excessive hair fall due to hormonal changes after delivery. We present a two-month-old infant who was irritable for the past two days with her left ring finger exhibiting an ischaemic constriction with no apparent insulting agent. She successfully treated surgically after we suspected an incomplete removal of hair thread in the emergency department. We would like to highlight the importance of a high index of suspicion in cases as such as early intervention saves the appendage.