title: Removal of a tungsten carbide wedding ring with a diamond tipped dental drill.
abstract: Tungsten carbide (WC) is an incredibly hard inorganic compound that has recently become fashionable in the manufacture of men's jewellery, particularly wedding rings. It is a common misconception that these rings are unable to be cut and emergency treatment to remove them necessitates the amputation of the finger trapped within. We present a case of such a ring being successfully removed with the use of a diamond tipped dental drill with restoration of function and preservation of the finger. This is a previously undocumented method of removal of this type of ring in the English language literature.
authors.affiliation: Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, Morriston Hospital, Heol Maes Eglwys, Morriston, Swansea SA6 6AL, United Kingdom. rupertricks@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: Rupert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ricks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003754:Dental High-Speed Equipment; D020878:Device Removal; D018130:Diamond; D005385:Fingers; D006801:Humans; D055498:Jewelry; D008297:Male; D017973:Tungsten Compounds
chemical_list: D017973:Tungsten Compounds; C002802:tungsten carbide; D018130:Diamond