Pune: A youth’s hand, which was severed from the wrist in a dough-making machine, was reattached at the Sassoon Hospital recently. The doctors successfully conducted a replantation surgery and brought a ray of hope in the poor patient’s life.
The surgery was conducted in the Plastic Surgery Department of the government hospital. The incident happened in Baramati, where the 22-year-old man’s hand got cut off in a dough-making machine. It was necessary to reattach the severed hand within six hours. Sassoon Hospital Dean Dr Chandrakant Mhaske came to know about the patient. He instructed the officials concerned to immediately shift the patient to the Sassoon Hospital.
When the patient was brought to the Sassoon Hospital, six hours had already lapsed. Risks were involved in replantation of his hand. If a limb remains cut off from the body for a longer period, there are chances that it may not get reattached. A late surgery may also mean risk to some vital organs such as kidneys, liver, etc, due to infections. It could lead to the death of a patient. The patient and his relatives were apprised of these risks and their permission was sought. Finally, the surgery was performed.
A team led by Dr Ankur Karanjkar from the Sassoon Hospital operated on the patient. Dr Piyush Bamnodkar, Dr Aditya Marathe, Dr Ranjit Patil, Dr Kaushik Das, Dr Pratik Patil and Dr Sujit Kshirsagar were the other members of the team. Dr Parag Sahasrabuddhe and Dr Nikhil Panse guided them.
The surgical method
The bones of the hand and the forearm were connected with metal stripes. Later, the veins, tissues and muscles were reattached. The operation lasted for seven hours. The patient was transfused with four blood bags and two platelets bags. He remained in the ICU for three days under observation. His hand was successfully reattached to the body after 15 days. Further procedures will be carried out for the normal movements of his hand.
