Yahoo News Surgeons save man's hand severed by saw by attaching it to his groin
A man’s severed hand has been saved by surgeons after they sewed it onto his groin before reattaching it.
Anthony Lelliott cut through his palm, severing his thumb and first two fingers, during a horror accident with a revolving saw while trimming flooring.
The 46-year-old from Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, said he felt an out-of-body experience when the hand was almost completely severed at the base of his palm and again just below his fingers.
He was rushed to St George's Hospital in Tooting, southwest London, where plastic surgeons managed to save his hand after seventeen hours of surgery.
The gruelling process required implanting veins taken from his foot and forearm and sewing his hand to his groin to replace missing skin.
They created a flap of skin near the hip and grafting on the hand so the flap can take hold.
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Anthony's hand had to remain sewn to his front for two weeks.
Consultant Plastic Surgeon, Roger Adlard, was on call when Anthony arrived at the major trauma centre and performed the first 13 hour operation.
Mr Adlard said: “When we took him to theatre I realised it was much worse than I’d first thought.
"It had it been cut off almost completely in two places – at the base of his palm and again just below the fingers – resulting in a double-level amputation.
“Time was also against us; his detached fingers were getting warm and left too long without blood they would rapidly decompose and be impossible to re-attach.
“I’d say it’s probably the most complex amputation I’ve had to deal with.
"There are many surgeons who, once they’d seen that level of injury, would think it was unsalvageable.”
Mr Adlard and his colleague Farida Ali worked through the night to save Anthony’s hand, finishing at 9am the next morning.
Mr Adlard continued: “There wasn’t enough skin to cover the exposed delicate microvascular repairs in his palm, so we decided to attach his hand to his groin to borrow skin from there.
"This procedure is called a pedicled groin flap and was performed by another hand surgeon, Jamil Moledina.
“Mr Moledina cut a section of skin in Anthony’s groin and lifted it like a flap to cover the missing skin from his hand. It was sewn in place and left there for two weeks.
"Eventually the skin from his groin grew new roots to where it had been transferred to his hand and we were able to cut his hand free.”
Incredibly, Anthony has already regained some movement in his hand and has regular sessions the hospital's hand therapy team.
He said: “The care I’ve received has been fantastic and I’ve got so much gratitude for everyone; from the paramedics who were first on the scene to the staff working in the intensive care unit and on Vernon Ward at St George’s.
"Words cannot describe it because I was expecting to wake up without a hand.
"It’s just trying to get it to work now. It’s unbelievable really, I’m so grateful.”
