A team of doctors of AIIMS Bhubaneswar successfully replanted the completely separated left forearm of a woman, an official of the medical institute said. The separated left forearm was attached to the body by doctors in an operation which lasted for more than eight hours.
Twenty-five-year-old Barsha Das of Puri district was working at her home when her dupatta got stuck in the rice-cutting machine along with her left hand on December 9. She was immediately taken to a local government hospital where primary treatment was given. The amputated part of the arm was kept in an ice bath and the patient was taken to the Emergency department of AIIMS Bhubaneswar at 9 pm on the same day.
The patient was immediately planned for re-implantation surgery on the same night at around 11:30 pm by a team led by Dr Sanjay Kumar Giri (Head of Burns & Plastic Surgery).
The amputated part was attached to the body by first two bony fixations, then arterial circulation was established along with the vein, followed by two major nerves that were repaired along with muscles and skin, said Dr Giri.
"The surgery went up till 8 am in the morning and the patient was then shifted to ICU. After the 10th post-operative day, we took the patient to the operating room again as the skin around the elbow was not good", he said, adding that the team had removed all the devitalised skin and covered it with a skin graft.
Today it is around two weeks following the incident. At present the limb is viable", Dr Giri said on Thursday. AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Executive Director Dr Ashutosh Biswas visited Barsha in the ward and applauded the effort of doctors of AIIMS for the heroic job. Dr Biswas and Medical Superintendent Dr S N Mohanty also praised Barsha for her bravery and assured her of a prosperous future.
Barsha on Thursday said she could escape from becoming a disabled person and got back her forearm which was completely separated from the body in an accident on December 9.
While thanking the doctors of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Barsha said: "Now I realize why people call doctors the second God. I had never thought that I would get back my hand and remain alive."
