At the Institute for Hand Surgery at Long Island Plastic Surgical Group (LIPSG), our highly skilled plastic surgeons provide specialized care for patients with injuries to the hands and upper extremities. One of our surgeons, Dr. Nikhil Agrawal, recently shared a video to educate viewers on a common hand injury known as “avocado hand”.
What is Avocado Hand?
Avocado hand is an injury that occurs when a person accidentally cuts themselves while slicing or removing the pit of an avocado. This can happen when you hold an avocado while cutting into it—you expect the knife to stop at the pit, but you miss the pit and the knife slices your hand. It can also happen when you have already cut the avocado and you use the knife to try to remove the pit while holding the avocado. Since avocados are soft on the inside, the momentum of the knife can cause significant injury if it accidently slices through the hand. An avocado hand injury can damage the muscles, tendons, and nerves of the hand, and treatment can require surgery and occupational therapy.
How to Safely Cut an Avocado to Avoid Hand Injuries
You can minimize accidents by putting the avocado on a flat, stable, surface and placing your non-dominant hand on the top of the avocado to steady it while you slice around the median of the avocado. Then, turn it 90 degrees to quarter it so that the pit will easily pop out. Watch the video to see Dr. Agrawal demonstrate safe avocado cutting technique.
Contact the Institute for Hand Surgery at Long Island Plastic Surgical Group
Contact us with any questions about avocado hand or other hand injuries or conditions, or to schedule an appointment with one of our hand specialists in NYC or Long Island.
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