A stitch in time saves Korean man’s fingers

Lee Sungh Teuk, 57, came to a city-based hospital carrying one of his fingers in a polythene bag and two others hanging with the support of his skin. But the Korean national did not leave the hope after the fingers of his right hand were severed accidentally while working with a machine at his factory in Manesar. HT reports.

Lee Sungh Teuk, 57, came to a city-based hospital carrying one of his fingers in a polythene bag and two others hanging with the support of his skin. But the Korean national did not leave the hope after the fingers of his right hand were severed accidentally while working with a machine at his factory in Manesar.

HT Image

Now, two weeks after undergoing a surgery at Artemis Health Institute, Lee is hale and hearty as he got his fingers back.

Lee was admitted to the hospital on January 31 after his right hand got entangled in a machine, crushing the middle, ring, and little fingers.

“What made this case more complicated was that the fingers did not have a clean cut. It was a crush injury. This made it difficult to find the ends of blood vessels to restore blood supply. Timing is very crucial in such injuries. Earlier the surgery is done, higher the chances of success,” said Dr Vipul Nanda, Head, Cosmetic and Plastic Surgeon.

In the surgery which lasted 11 hours, each finger was stitched along with bones, tendons, arteries, veins and nerves. The doctors also used vein grafts from his toes as intervening segments during the suturing of blood vessels. Skin graft for one finger was also done.