Gurgaon: Man’s amputated hand reattached after nine-hour surgery

On July 28, a day when Gurgaon and its adjoining areas coped with excessive rain, waterlogging and traffic snarls, Amit Kumar, a 27-year-old resident of Ghaziabad, had another more grave problem on his hands.

On July 28, a day when Gurgaon and its adjoining areas coped with excessive rain, waterlogging and traffic snarls, Amit Kumar, a 27-year-old resident of Ghaziabad, had another more grave problem on his hands.

Amit Kumar's left hand (with glove) was amputated while cutting metal in July 2016.

His left hand was amputated accidentally while cutting metal at a construction site in Sector 4 of Manesar where he was employed as a daily wage earner. It was later reattached following a nine-hour reconstructive surgery.

Carrying his hand in a container, Amit’s colleagues rushed him to nearby VPS Rockland hospital.

As per hospital authorities, Amit was immediately admitted and his amputated hand was kept in an ice box to prevent contamination. Wires were attached to keep his arm stable and reduce blood loss.

Upon reviewing Amit’s X-ray, doctors diagnosed him with wrist disarticulation and a team of five specialists, two assistants and one anaesthetist carried out a nine-hour hand reattachment operation.

“His vessels were repaired immediately to provide blood flow to tissues. It was followed by repair of tendons and common digital nerves of each finger. The patient (Amit) was kept under supervision for four days and then discharged,” Dr Pradeep Kumar, head plastic surgeon, VPS Rockland Hospital-Manesar said.

The costs for the surgery were borne by Amit’s employee but the post-operative costs had no sponsors. Amit who has a five-year-old son and a one-year-old son resumed work as a a metal cutter within a month after the incident.

“I am spending over Rs 3,000 as monthly medical charges for consultations, medication and physiotherapy. Despite having fears that a similar accident might happen again, I cannot afford the charges without going to work at the construction site. My wife has also started working as a tailor to cover the family’s remaining expenditure,” Amit said.

Amit claims that he had regained 60% of his hand movement and the hospital authorities have assured him of a full recovery within a year.