Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

Woman gets back her hand

SAVED: Mariamma with Orthopaedic surgeon C. Rex after the limb-saving surgery.

COIMBATORE: Mariamma (43) almost lost her left hand. Eking out a living as a worker in a dyeing unit, her hand was cut when it had been dragged into a machine at the unit recently. Only a soft tissue connected her forearm with the upper arm. A surgery at a city hospital has restored the hand.

Orthopaedic Surgeon C. Rex of Rex Ortho Hospital said in a press release that the woman had lost two litres of blood because of a major artery cut. All the nerves, muscles and bones were severed in the accident.

When she was brought to the hospital, blood transfusion was done and drugs administered to bring her out of shock. A four-hour limb-saving surgery was performed to repair the severed blood vessel and nerves and to re-join the arm completely.

The surgeon said the patient was recovering well. He said this had been made possible by bringing the patient quickly to the hospital, timely action and availability of expertise. “It is important for people to know that a severed hand can be re-attached and normal functions restored if they come to a hospital that had the required facilities and expertise for such surgeries, within six hours from the time of injury,” he said.

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