Emirati surgeons replant an amputated hand in Tawam Hospital

Abu Dhabi: Doctors at Tawam Hospital, one of the medical facilities of the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company “SEHA”, succeeded in performing emergency surgery to connect an amputated hand, which took nine hours for a patient whose hand was amputated in a work accident.

The plastic and reconstructive surgery team were able to restore blood circulation in the severed hand within two hours using the microsurgical technique, and the patient was able to move his fingers within a week after surgery.

Regarding the details of the surgery, Dr Ammar Al-Damin, consultant of plastic and reconstructive surgery and surgery at the hospital, said:

“The joints or re-implants may be complex procedures that require highly specialized techniques, and the patient came to us after his hand was cut off from the wrist as a result of a work injury in an industrial facility and here. The time factor is critical; one of the most important factors for successful re-implantation is the passage of fewer than 6 hours in the muscular structures, in this case, we have restored blood circulation within 2 hours, and the patient can start moving their fingers within a week. Intense sessions of physiotherapy but his recovery so far has been excellent.”

The surgical team that performed the operation included Emirati surgeons, Dr. Latifa Abdullah Al Dhaheri, a plastic surgeon, Dr. Hamad Ahmed Al Dhaheri, a resident doctor, and Dr. Mohamed Nader Saqal, a specialist in the orthopaedic team.

Re-implantation or reattachment involves surgical reattachment of a part of the body (such as a hand, toes or foot), and the reconnected parts have an average chance of saving 80%. However, the success of the surgery depends on several factors, the most important of which is the type of injury. Usually, acute cut injuries produce the best overall results after the attachment, while amputations caused by crushing or laceration (where the organ is torn due to trauma) do not achieve good results. In addition, age, location, and joints affected or unaffected are some of the factors that influence healing as well.