E-Paper
Lucknow KGMU docs reattach woman’s severed hand
19-year-old woman's arm saved after being severed in a sickle attack in Fatehpur. Swift action by family and doctors crucial for successful reattachment.
Swift action by the family and doctors, saved the arm of a 19-year-old woman after it was severed from the wrist in a sickle attack, in her native village, Fatehpur, in Unnao district.
The woman was assaulted on March 12 at approximately 4:30 pm, by a 25-year-old assailant. It is yet to be ascertained why the assailant, wielding a sickle, severed her left hand at the wrist. She was brought to the Civil Hospital, Lucknow, and she underwent immediate first aid. The severed hand was preserved in an icebox, and she was referred to KGMU.
“She could reach us within eight hours of the incident, and this proved to be a blessing. We took about six hours to reattach the wrist. The operation was a result of swift action and transportation, apart from the support from the medical team,” said Prof Divya Narain Upadhyay, of the plastic surgery department, King George’s Medical University, under whom the woman was operated.
The patient is currently stable and recovering in the post-operation ward.
Doctors said that getting the patient to hospital quickly was the first good thing in this case. “The usual time for reuniting a severed limb is 4.5 hours but this gets extended if the severed part is small, like it happened in this case. Hence, we could conduct successful surgery even after eight hours of the incident,” said Prof Upadhyay.
Along with Prof Upadhyay, the operating team included Dr Harshavardhan Singh, Dr B Gowtham Reddy, Dr Bhaskar Chowdhary, Dr Gourav Jain, Dr Rahul Radhakrishnan, Dr Pratibha Rana, and Dr Shubham Sharma.
Tips in case limb is severed
# Rush patient to the nearest medical centre for first aid
# Move fast towards a higher centre equipped to conduct reunion surgery
# Do not disturb the severed body part or apply any home remedy. Instead keep clean and in ice box while transporting
