Amrita Hospital doctors re-attach 27-year-old man's thumb in 10-hour surgery

Faridabad: A 27-year-old man, whose left thumb got torn off in a drilling accident at work, with all connected tendons, arteries, veins, and nerves pulled out, was successfully operated upon by a team of specialists at Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, successfully reattaching it to the hand. 

The dramatic turn of events took place when the patient, who is an industrial drill operator at a construction equipment manufacturing company in Faridabad, was having a normal day at work. He was wearing a glove that got entangled in a powerful, running drill.

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The drill pulled the glove off with great force, pulling out the entire thumb with it. In excruciating pain, he went to several hospitals for reattaching the thumb back but was turned down everywhere as doctors said the surgery was too complex and rare and they did not have the necessary capability or experience. He was then directed to Amrita Hospital, Faridabad.

Said Dr. Mohit Sharma, Head, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad, who led the surgery: "The patient came to us with his left thumb traumatically amputated. The complexity of the amputation made the surgery very challenging. This was a case of avulsion amputation of the thumb, with all connecting tendons, arteries, veins, and nerves pulled out. It was not a clear-cut severance, so the thumb was very difficult to replant. But we took it up as a challenge. We at Amrita Hospital pioneered hand transplants in India at our Kochi facility and have long experience in the field."

The patient was wheeled immediately into the operating theatre without losing any time, where the thumb was reattached in its natural place in a surgery that lasted 10 hours. Dr. Mohit Sharma said, "Thumb reconstruction is one of the most challenging and complicated reconstructive surgeries. The removal of the patient's thumb occurred due to a powerful pulling force that disrupted all bodily structures up to 20 cm further up the forearm. There was extensive damage to the arteries, veins, and nerves. Numerous grafts had to be applied between the veins to create a healthy structure, restore blood circulation, and allow for end-to-end joining."

The doctor added: "The patient's thumb bone is currently fixed with the help of Kirschner wires (K-wires) used to repair fractures. Once his bone has healed in 6-8 weeks, the wires would be pulled out and thumb movement started over time. This surgery was extremely important for the patient, as thumb contributes to 40% of a person's hand function. If thumb was not replanted, he would have had to live without proper use of his hand, making day-to-day life challenging. But everything went well, and the patient is now discharged. He needs to take proper care till the wound fully heals. We wish him a speedy recovery, and hopefully he will regain his thumb's full functions in a few months."

Said the patient, the father of two young children and the sole breadwinner of his family: "I was devasted when I lost my thumb and couldn't bear to consider the prospect of living the rest of my life with left hand not fully functional. It would have been very difficult to continue with my job that requires dexterity with hands. I was dejected when I was turned away from various hospitals. I thank the doctors of Amrita Hospital for attempting this surgery and giving me a fully functional hand back."

The surgery was performed by Dr. Mohit Sharma along with two other surgeons, Dr. Vasundhara Jain and Dr. Devajyoti Guin from Amrita Hospital, Faridabad.

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