Sailor's severed finger reattached 25 hours after accident

While on duty on an ocean-going vessel in the central region, a male sailor had a serious accident that severed the index finger of his right hand. After 25 hours at sea, he was brought to shore for surgery. This is the longest case of limb amputation that Viet Duc Hospital has received and successfully operated on during the golden hour.

On December 9, Viet Duc Hospital said that male sailor NVD (35 years old) had a serious accident while repairing equipment on an ocean-going ship while traveling through the central sea area at the time of storm No. 12, causing the ship to rock, causing him to lose a finger.

The male sailor's hand after 4 weeks of surgery.

Fortunately, the crew on board quickly provided first aid and preserved the severed finger in a thermos, brought him ashore and reached the nearest medical facility in the Central region. At this time, the storm was very strong, bringing Mr. D ashore was extremely difficult and required great support from the national search and rescue agency.

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 decided to take the earliest flight from Da Nang to Hanoi early the next morning to Viet Duc Hospital. The total time of anemia was up to 25 hours.

Understanding that every minute is precious, Viet Duc Hospital immediately held a multidisciplinary consultation and decided to perform microsurgery to reattach the male sailor's finger.

Dr. Vu Trung Truc - Deputy Head of the Department of Maxillofacial, Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, Viet Duc Hospital, who directly performed the surgery, said that this was an extremely special case because the anemia lasted up to 25 hours - a huge obstacle for the surgery.

However, with a team of experienced doctors and good coordination between specialties, two surgical teams performing the surgery in parallel, the male sailor's finger was successfully reattached.

After surgery, the wound healed quickly, the finger was pink and completely alive, the male sailor was able to remove the stitches and the fixing needle. Currently, he is undergoing rehabilitation to regain the mobility and feeling of the finger.

According to medical experts, the "golden hour" for reattaching severed limbs and tissues is 6 hours - this is the safe threshold for the survival of severed limb tissue. In the case of the male sailor, the severed limb lasted up to 25 hours, nearly 20 hours past the "golden hour". However, because the severed finger was well preserved, this was also a favorable factor.

Doctors at Viet Duc Hospital warn that accidents involving severed fingers, hands or other body parts can happen at any time, so people need to be equipped with proper first aid knowledge, because this is the deciding factor in the ability to save a limb.

Nam Thuy Thu is practicing rehabilitation to make her fingers more flexible.

When limbs are severed, do not wash or soak them in any solution. In case the severed part is in a dirty environment with many foreign objects, it can be washed under clean running water, preferably purified drinking water or boiled and cooled water.

Wrap the limb with clean gauze/towel, put it in a nylon bag and tie it tightly (avoid direct contact with ice).

Place the bag containing the limb in another bag containing ice. Keep the limb in a clean, temperature-controlled environment and transport it as quickly as possible. Take the victim to the nearest medical facility for treatment and further instructions.

In particular, do not arbitrarily handle or use drugs or disinfectants on severed limbs.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/noi-ngon-tay-bi-dut-roi-cho-thuy-thu-sau-25-tieng-gap-tai-nan-i790494/