Minor Injury Care in Southlake, TX

Cuts, burns, splinters, minor wounds and wound checks are all handled here, usually the same day. The advantage over urgent care is the same one that applies everywhere else on this site: we already have your chart, your medication list, your tetanus history and your allergies.

Wounds and lacerations

We clean, irrigate, close where closure is appropriate, and dress the wound.

Closure options include sutures, skin adhesive for clean straight cuts in low-tension areas, and adhesive strips. Adhesive works well on faces and in places where a needle would be worse than the injury.

Timing matters. Most wounds should be closed within 12 to 18 hours, and some on the face can be closed slightly later. A wound left too long is usually better managed by letting it heal open than by closing bacteria inside it.

Some wounds should not be closed at all: puncture wounds, most bites, and anything already showing signs of infection. Closing those traps infection under the skin.

Tetanus

Adults need a booster every ten years and every five for a dirty or puncture wound. A large share of adults are overdue and do not know it.

We check your record and give it at the visit rather than sending you elsewhere. If you have never had a Tdap as an adult, that is the version you should get.

Burns

We treat superficial and small partial-thickness burns: cooling, cleaning, dressing, and pain control.

Burns that need a burn center or emergency care are those that are deep, larger than the palm of your hand, circumferential around a limb, or on the face, hands, feet, genitals or across a major joint. Chemical and electrical burns are also referred, since the visible injury underestimates the damage.

Do not put ice, butter or ointment on a fresh burn. Cool running water for twenty minutes is what actually helps.

Splinters, foreign bodies and nails

We remove splinters, fish hooks and other foreign bodies where we can see and reach them.

Glass and metal fragments sometimes need imaging first, because a retained fragment causes chronic pain and infection. Wood does not show on X-ray, which is worth knowing.

Subungual hematomas, blood trapped under a nail after a crush injury, can be drained for immediate relief.

Bites

Animal and human bites need particular care. They are high risk for infection, they are often not closed, and they usually need antibiotics.

Cat bites are worse than they look because the puncture is deep and narrow. Bites to the hand from any source get treated aggressively and referred readily.

Rabies risk depends on the animal and circumstances, and we walk through that assessment with you rather than guessing.

When you should go elsewhere

Bleeding that will not stop after ten minutes of firm direct pressure. Deep wounds to the chest, abdomen or neck. Suspected fracture with visible deformity. Numbness, weakness or inability to move the part beyond the injury, which suggests nerve or tendon damage. Any injury to the eye.

Those need the emergency department, and anything involving heavy bleeding or breathing difficulty means 911.

Follow-up

Wound checks, suture removal and dressing changes are all done here. Suture removal timing depends on location: five days on the face, ten to fourteen over a joint.

Same-day appointments are covered on our sick visits page. See our primary care Southlake practice overview.