You could have sutured all day and your finger would still not be straight. Sutures are mainly for surface wounds in the field, and you either got infected or it was near a knuckle and you caused other trauma
Possibly but my finger will still flex if I push it straight and I can tell there is now an excess amount of flesh in that area. At the very least I should have immobilized the finger straight since as a result the large gash had to fill in with new flesh and I believe that is why it cannot push itself all the way.
Now the finger I damaged on Kaweah Pass is a different story. After a year and a half it still is not 100% and I get pain from it is pushed certain ways.
In the end that is how my first aid kit is built. I start with the basic one man kit (water proof which is important!) and remove some junk In it and add extra bandages disinfectant and sowing materials. I'd like to add some pain killers and antibiotics to it but I don't have access to those.
If you take a suture kit, I think getting some hands-on training would be advised. I certainly would not want it to be my first time at this, one handed, while I was hurting and maybe in horrible conditions too! There also is a limit on what you can do on yourself, particularly if it is your dominant hand that is injured. Obviously you cannot reach the back of your head, if you were to fall and cut your head. I would be more inclined to consider sutures if in a group of people where the injured person is not the one doing the procedure. It also would be good to know when sutures help and when they are not a good idea.
Suturing also closes the wound so that infection can be worse than if you left it a bit open. I have pretty successfully used butterfly bandages to close a cut. These do not break the skin so no new infection is added. They leave the wound open enough to drain. Definitely, a re-opened cut can cause extra scar tissue. I would splint a cut if needed just so I would not accidently open it.
Another approach is simply to butterfly a cut and then get out to the closest trailhead and get to some professional medical help. If I had a major cut to my finger, I do not think I would just go forward on my trip.
Off this specific topic - What you are really doing most with first aid is stabilize the injured. Even if you push the help button on your PLB, YOU have to stabilize the injured. What an injured person can quickly die of is 1) stop breathing, 2) arterial bleeding, 3) shock, 4) secondary hypothermia. Although not considered "first aid" just your general backpacking gear can prevent hypothermia and death from shock. You need some way to add external warmth. And when going solo, there is no hot body of your buddy to add warmth. Even on a day-hike I take one pot and my stove, and some Miso soup mix. I have been close to hypothermia once, and hot food really helped.
Honestly, I focus much more on accident prevention than first aid. Most accidents are caused by poor judgment and often a string of small but cumulative bad decisions prior to the accident.
Certainly everything is circumstantial and you are forced to do the best you can. When you might be 3 or 4 days like I was from the nearest trail head you have to look at it different than if you can get out the same day.
I have an unfortunate habit of thinking too much about it when I get injured badly which has more than once sent me into a state of shock. This adds more problems. Hard to sow up a wound when your hearing is going, vision is blurring, sweating horribly, nauseous, dizzy and ready to pass out.
Probably still requires a third hand unless you tape closed a bit before stapling. Agree with WD that you probably shouldn't close a wound all the way. They need to weep a bit. And you need to get to an ER ASAP after the incident. (Thought we are all required to have medical coverage by now?)
I walked out with someone who attempted to use superglue on a large area - don't use it where layers of the dermis are gone as with a popped golf ball sized blister. Hurts like no one's business. I had to loan her the Tevas I was using for water crossings so she could walk without further damaging the area.
Medical insurance may not cover wilderness emergencies. Check with your carrier about an extra rider on your policy if it doesn't.
First aid kit...?
Pretty minimalistic here - my kit:
Needle and thread, ductape, TP, Excedrin Migraine, Aleve, (a few Percocet), Imonium, Tums... SAR tweezers and scissors, mini-tube superglue, and a few antiseptic wipes.
BTW, the most needed item, the one thing most oft-used - Glide...chafing, scrapes, and burns.
Prescriptions
Band aids
Gauze
Tape
Vet wrap
Alcohol wipes to sterilize knife edge
Painkillers - ibuprofen, migraine meds
Antibiotic cream
My bite valve, to clean out open wounds
My water filter, to get more clean water quickly
My trekking poles, to use as a splint or with a jacket to make a travois
Bandana, guy lines, other line - make the splint stay on
My sleeping gear, my fire making kit, my stove and tea bags/cocoa, to warm a mild to moderately hypothermic person
Note pad and small pencil to take notes whilst rendering aid
The grey matter between my ears, to keep track of the stuff I learned in wilderness first aid, plus how to make emergency shelters in snow or sticks.
The PLB, and the ability to comprehend that it ain't 100% error free so knowing how to do stuff with what I have is mega-important, so I can keep the patient stable til the end of the trip when that itinerary gets pulled out and used by my buddy at home.
90% of everything that can happen has a recommendation for evacuation in the wilderness medicine books. Knowing what you can do and what's next to be done when something is beyond your scope = antidote to panic and bad choices.
Try tying a good square knot with one hand.
