Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A GRAFTY MOVE
Surgeons save man’s hand by sewing it in stomach for 3 weeks
SURGEONS saved a man’s hand after it was crushed in a horrific work accident by grafting it into a pocket they made in his stomach.
Anthony Seward, 21, feared losing his left hand after it got caught in a mangle.
But medics kept it alive by stitching it inside the pouch for three weeks.
James Henderson, who did the procedure, said: “There are more sophisticated ways of transplanting tissue, but Anthony’s injury was so severe it was decided to do it this way.
“It’s now quite rare as we don’t see that many injuries that require this treatment.” Anthony was wounded while preparing a mangle at a textiles factory.
He did not realise rollers were on and his hand got entangled in the machine.
Details of the extraordinary operation to save the limb emerged in a court case on Tuesday.
Exeter magistrates heard the old-fashioned procedure, a pedicled abdominal flap, was commonly used on injured servicemen in the Second World War. It has also been used on soldiers returning from Afghanistan.
Surgeons at Southmead Hospital in Bristol made a pocket which was sepa- rated from Anthony’s abdomen, and the skin was folded over to cover his hand.
He has had further operations to separate his fingers and can move them independently, but some of his fingertips had to be amputated. Anthony may eventually have transplants from his toes.
Heathcoat Fabrics Ltd, based in Tiverton, Devon, admitted contravening health and safety regulations by failing to prevent access to the dangerous parts of the mangle. They were fined £300,000.
Christopher Ducann, mitigating for the firm, said of Anthony’s injury, sustained last August: “This was an avoidable accident and to that extent, we fully apologise for it.”
Anthony, who lost his job as a retained firefighter due to his ordeal, said after the case: “They had to encase my hand for just over three weeks.
“I was looking at all four fingers being amputated. Luckily it paid off.” He added: “It’s been a long and painful 12 months.
“I just can’t stress enough thanks to the surgeons, paramedics and nurses. They did an incredible job. The worst part about this was it was completely avoidable.” He is now making a compensation claim against the firm.