A wedding ring symbolizes a lifetime of commitment. But bands that are nearly impossible to remove give an entirely different meaning to the ties that bind.
It's common for medical personnel to have to remove rings that no longer glide off swollen fingers. For gold and silver jewelry, it's a relatively simple task using a basic ring cutter.
But titanium rings—made from a metal that's increasingly popular because it's stronger, lighter, and hypoallergenic—are another story. That very durability makes them nearly impossible to remove without special equipment.
The medical literature is filled with reports of hospital staff using devices such as dental saws, drills and diamond-tipped saws to cut titanium bands. But there are risks, like burning the skin. Moreover, the process can take up to 15 minutes, requires at least two people, and the equipment required may not be available in a hospital.
Sheffield Teaching Hospital in the United Kingdom discovered another method after clinicians were called in to remove a titanium ring from the swollen finger of a female patient who had spent a prolonged period soaking in a warm spa six hours earlier.
They tried the usual techniques, to no avail. Writing in the Emergency Medicine Journal, the authors described using a pair of large bolt cutters to slice the ring open. Finally, using a pair of large paper clips to tug on the two sides, the patient and her ring did part.
