Yes, you can blame your wedding ring.

• Position: Injuries - Brief article

It can happen suddenly--in the time it takes for a dog's leash to get tangled around a finger or in the moments when a ring is caught in a conveyor belt. The force of an avulsion, or degloving, injury is so powerful that the skin is peeled away, damaging blood vessels, muscles, and tendons.

Children suffer such injuries when, for example, their fingers get trapped between the metal rails of amusement park rides. Adults have been injured stepping out of buses, working with drill presses, and holding reins or tow ropes.

The culprit often is a wedding ring. "When someone falls, they try to grab something and the ring gets stuck, and peels everything off. It's a devastating injury," notes Bardia Amirlak, a plastic surgeon at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

When an avulsion injury occurs, prompt treatment is required. Such injuries can cut off blood supply, causing the underlying...