WITH THIS RING Suture can remove stuck rings without damage.

GETTING STUBBORN RINGS OFF
Remove Stuck Rings With Suture

We remove patients' rings before surgery as a safety precaution against the risk of injury from electrosurgical devices. But some patients have been wearing those rings for a long time, and they're difficult to remove. Here's how you can do the job without having to damage the ring. All it takes is a piece of silk suture.

• Thread one end of the suture beneath the ring.
• Take the other end and wrap the suture around the finger, above the ring.
• Once the finger is wrapped and compressed, take the first end of the suture (the one that was tucked through the ring) and unwind it from that side of the ring.

The ring should slide right off with the uncoiling of the suture. If you'd like, apply some bacitracin ointment to the suture before you start unwrapping — this will give it a bit more slipperiness.

This technique has worked from the first time we tried it, and we haven't had to cut a ring since. For a couple dollars' worth of suture, we're no longer liable for damaging an expensive or antique ring.

Sarah Angus, RN, and Kevin Dinkel, RN
MidMichigan Medical Center
Midland, Mich.
[email protected]