Doctors Save Severed Hand By Sewing to Man’s Ankle

After a man lost his right hand in a work place accident in November, doctors in Changsha, Hunan province successfully reattached the limb by grafting it to his ankle for a month. 

The man, Xiao Wei, said that at the time of the accident he “was just shocked and frozen to the spot, until colleagues unplugged the machine and retrieved my hand and took me to the hospital. I am still young, and I couldn’t imagine life without a right hand.”

Doctors, opted to graft the hand to Wei’s ankle to prevent it from dying while they worked on his other extensive injuries. The doctors told Rex Features: “His injury was severe. Besides ripping injuries, his arm was also flattened. We had to clear and treat his injuries before taking on the hand reattachment surgery.”

Roughly a month later, Wei has recovered sufficiently such that he can undergo reattachment surgery. Doctors say he will require several other procedures but remain hopeful that he will regain full function of his hand.  

Photo: Rex