Civic worker’s severed arm reattached after complex op

A municipal worker had his severed hand fixed by city doctors through the upper limb arm-level replantation procedure.

Replantation is a microsurgical procedure to reattach a totally severed body part. The procedure joins all nerves and vessels under the operating microscope, where the dead or dying part is revived to life with the repairing of damaged and broken blood vessels to restore circulation.

The worker had inadvertently slipped his hand into a garbage handling machine that sliced off his arm.

Quick-thinking colleagues rushed him to a nearby hospital within an hour of the accident and he was treated.

Doctors said Nanjappa was taken into surgery within an hour of his arrival at the hospital when they completed all investigations and adequately stabilised him. The 29-year-old is recovering. He was discharged 10 days after the surgery.

Dr N Jithendran, reconstructive microvascular surgeon, Sparsh Hospitals, along with his team performed the microsurgical replantation of the right upper limb. The procedure went on for seven hours. Dr Jithendran told DH that the incident took place in Hosur.

Cut arm in plastic cover

“The patient came with his severed arm wrapped in a polythene sheet. Fortunately, he didn’t lose too much blood,” he said.

“He came within an hour and we took an hour to prepare and wheel him into the operation theatre,” he said. The patient received three to four units of blood. Doctors said it would take a year for the patient to resume normal life. “The nerves would take time to regenerate. He’ll also need physiotherapy,” Dr Jithendran said.