Man cut off hand at work and searched for a surgeon for 7 hours; The surgeon attached it to his calf where there was a good blood supply;There have been about 20 such successful operations in all of China!
By Jen Christensen, CNN
December 17, 2013 -- Updated 2310 GMT (0710 HKT)
A worker operating a machine in a family workshop in China accidentally cut off his hand -- which doctors were able to save by grafting it onto his lower calf.
The worker, Xie Wei, said he was initially unsure if his right hand could be saved, but he thought it was worth a try. The hand went without a blood supply for many hours while Xie searched for a hospital that could perform such a surgery.
Xie said that he went to local hospitals near the factory first, but he said they told him they "did not have the skills to help." Eventually he found a hospital about two hours away where doctors believed they could do it.
Xie kept his hand in a plastic bag at first, then stored it in a cooler of ice. In total, it took about seven hours to get to a doctor who could help.
The doctor, Dr. Tang Juyu, is a specialist in difficult tissue and wound repair cases. Before Xie went into the operation, Tang told him he was optimistic and predicted he would regain the use of his hand, according to Xie.
Tang decided the best way to save the hand was to attach it to Xie's calf where there was a good blood supply. The hand would need to stay there until Xie's arm could fully heal.
By Jen Christensen, CNN
December 17, 2013 -- Updated 2310 GMT (0710 HKT)
A worker operating a machine in a family workshop in China accidentally cut off his hand -- which doctors were able to save by grafting it onto his lower calf.
The worker, Xie Wei, said he was initially unsure if his right hand could be saved, but he thought it was worth a try. The hand went without a blood supply for many hours while Xie searched for a hospital that could perform such a surgery.
Xie said that he went to local hospitals near the factory first, but he said they told him they "did not have the skills to help." Eventually he found a hospital about two hours away where doctors believed they could do it.
Xie kept his hand in a plastic bag at first, then stored it in a cooler of ice. In total, it took about seven hours to get to a doctor who could help.
The doctor, Dr. Tang Juyu, is a specialist in difficult tissue and wound repair cases. Before Xie went into the operation, Tang told him he was optimistic and predicted he would regain the use of his hand, according to Xie.
Tang decided the best way to save the hand was to attach it to Xie's calf where there was a good blood supply. The hand would need to stay there until Xie's arm could fully heal.