An ESPN reporter tweeted an image of New York Giants player Jason Pierre-Paul's medical charts, revealing an amputated finger as a result of a fireworks incident. In response, Michelle Carlson, MD, of Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City spoke with the Tampa Bay Times about the repercussions of the injury for Mr. Pierre-Paul's return to play.
Here are three things to know:
1. Losing an index finger is less a challenge than losing other fingers.
2. "The long ring and middle finger are more involved in power grips than the index finger," according to Dr. Carlson.
3. Even physicians can bounce back from losing a finger in a process called "ray amputation," and Dr. Carlson notes people can do better with the index finger ray amputated than if the finger remains but does not function properly.