Tawam Hospital successfully replants severed hand

Tawam Hospital successfully replants severed hand

- Patient is expected to regain most of the hand function following physiotherapy.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Doctors at Tawam Hospital, part of the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), the UAE’s largest healthcare network, successfully conducted a complex emergency hand replantation surgery that lasted nine hours, on a patient who lost his hand in an industrial accident. The plastic and reconstructive surgery team was able to restore blood circulation in the severed arm within two hours using microsurgery technique and the patient was able to move his fingers within a week of the surgery.

Replantation surgeries involve the surgical reattachment of a body part (such as the hand, fingers, or toes), with an average survival rate of the replanted parts being 80%. The success of the replantation surgery depends on several factors – the type of injury being of most importance. Usually, sharp injuries produce the best overall results, while crush or avulsion amputations (an injury in which a body structure is torn off by trauma) produce relatively poor outcomes. Additionally, age, area of injury, and joint vs. non joint injuries are some factors that affect recovery.

Elaborating further on the surgery, Dr. Ammar Al Dhamin, Plastic, Reconstructive and Microsurgery Consultant,