For the first time, microsurgery successfully saved the life of a sailor's finger that was severed after 25 hours.

On December 9, Viet Duc Hospital reported that, for the first time in Vietnam, the hospital's doctors successfully performed microsurgery to save the life of a sailor whose finger was severed while at sea after 25 hours.

The patient was Mr. D., a sailor on an ocean liner traveling through the central sea area. While repairing equipment, he had a serious accident and severed his right index finger.

The crew on board quickly performed first aid and preserved the severed limb in a thermos, trying to bring the victim ashore and reach the nearest medical facility in the Central region.

Photo of patient D's severed hand and fingers. Photo: BVCC

In the emergency situation, after receiving first aid from medical staff, Mr. D. wanted to have his severed limb reattached, so he and his family took the earliest flight from Da Nang to Hanoi early the next morning and arrived at Viet Duc Hospital, with the severed finger having been anemic for up to 25 hours.

Doctors at Viet Duc Hospital performed microsurgery to reattach a finger for patient D.

At Viet Duc Hospital, experts assessed that the severed limb had been properly treated and preserved, the finger joints were still soft, and the tissue structure was well preserved. The hospital immediately held a multidisciplinary consultation to come up with the optimal treatment plan, which was to perform microsurgery to reattach the patient's finger.

Patient D's reattached finger was able to move.

Currently, after surgery, the wound has healed, the finger is pink and completely alive. The patient is undergoing rehabilitation to regain mobility and sensation in the finger.

KHANH NGUYEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lan-dau-tien-vi-phau-thanh-cong-cuu-song-ngon-tay-cua-mot-thuy-thu-bi-dut-roi-sau-25-gio-post827772.html