[Toe tourniquet syndrome].

In two boys aged 4 months and one girl aged 2 months one or two toes were red and oedematous, while in one boy aged 3 weeks one toe had become necrotic. In the first-mentioned three children the affected toes were encircled by a hair, the hair was removed under anaesthesia, after which the children recovered. In the last-mentioned child, amputation through the proximal phalanx was necessary. The toe tourniquet syndrome occurs mainly in infants. Strangulation of the toes by circular foreign material. such as hair or fibre, causes oedema and increasing constriction. Timely treatment is followed by good recovery. Delayed or incomplete treatment can lead to necrosis which may necessitate amputation.