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Chinese student who lost finger has his own TOE grafted onto hand

Ha Yuan lost his ring finger on his left hand as a child, and says his handicap stopped him getting well-paid jobs

Ha Yuan's new hand, with his toe grafted into the spot where his ring finger used to be. (Rex)

A Chinese student who lost a finger has gone back to having five digits - after doctors attached one of his toes to his hand.

Ha Yuan lost his ring finger on his left hand as a child, and says his handicap stopped him getting well-paid jobs.

But the 22-year-old has had his life changed by surgeons who took the second toe on his left foot and grafted it onto the affected hand.

Doctors say it is not easy to tell the difference with the new appendage, and medics even believe it could be fully functioning within three months.

Ha, from southern China’s Hunan Province, said: ‘My classmates all found jobs in the campus job fairs, but I was refused all the time once the employer saw my left hand.'

'I feel my new life is about to start.’


Doctor Lu, who helped with the pioneering operation, said: ‘It's not easy to tell the difference if people are not looking at it closely.

'The only difference is the size of the nail. Doctor Lu added that it would take three months for the new 'finger' to resume functions.