Doctors sew severed hand on foot

Chinese doctors save hand by transplantation on foot ankle

18/12/2013

Chinese doctors have managed a small miracle at the Xiangya Hospital in Hunan Province: in a spectacular emergency operation, a severed young man's hand was transplanted to his ankle to keep his natural function. After a month, the hand was moved back to its original position - whether this will work 100% in the future again, according to the doctors, but rather unlikely.

25-year-old saws off hand while working with a drill
In an unusual operation, doctors at a clinic in Hunan Province, China, rescued a man's severed right hand by transplanting it to his ankle. Like the British online newspaper „The Telegraph“ Currently reported, 25-year-old Xie Wei saw off his hand with a drill last month while working and then went to hospital with the severed limb seven hours later. There, however, the doctors had seen no chance to be able to put the hand back on his arm, as it was to be expected that the tissue would die before the operation had even ended.

Hand stays at the man's ankle for 35 days
In order to maintain the natural functions of the hand, the physicians finally decided on an unusual alternative and transplanted the hand to the man's ankle. 35 days later she was removed and sewn to the arm of the young man - according to the „telegraph“ for Xie Wei a miracle: „I just thought, that's just supernatural. I never thought that my hand could be saved.“

Hand still feels numb
Despite the success, according to Xie Wei must now wait, because his hand still feels numb and it could take months to show small signs of functioning. Now, as part of the recovery in six months, another operation is carried out, moreover, according to the clinic „a large proportion of rehabilitation is necessary for the hand to function better than a hand prosthesis“, the Telegraph continues. (No)

Picture: Martin Büdenbender