Doctors sewed my severed hand back on
11-HOUR OPERATION A SUCCESS
AN incredible surgery performed at Royal Derby Hospital has seen a man have his hand reattached after it was chopped off in a horrific accident.
Christopher Wright had been working when his left hand got caught in a machine and was completely ripped off.
The incident, which took place on Monday, February 15, left the 57-year-old in a race against time to save his hand.
He was rushed to Royal Derby, where expert surgeons performed an extraordinary 11-hour surgery to reattach his hand to his arm.
Now, only seven days later, he is well on the road to recovery and has thanked the amazing staff who helped him.
Mr Wright, who is from Oswestry in Shropshire, said when the incident took place he knew immediately there was a serious problem.
He said: “Whilst working on a cardboard cartons machine, the chains grabbed my overalls and pulled my hand in to the machine.
“I heard a ‘snap’ noise and at that moment I knew I had lost my hand.
“After going on a first aid responder course a couple of years back, my training from then instantly kicked in. I grabbed my arm out of the machine, squeezed it and called for help. I called for a first-aider who then called for an ambulance.
“I remained conscious for the whole time that this was happening.”
Mr Wright was rushed to the major trauma centre at Royal Stoke Hospital, while his hand was kept close to him in a separate and secure bag.
He was then transferred to the Pulvertaft Hand Centre at Royal Derby Hospital by the North Wales Air Ambulance, where he was operated on by consultant hand and plastic surgeon, Miss Mary O’Brien, and her team.
In the operating theatre, Mr Wright’s hand was reattached to his forearm, although he did lose his little finger and 6cm from his arm where surgeons had to cut it to create a smooth surface for the reattachment.
Mr Wright, who is now recovering and already has some movement in the limb a week later, is looking forward to going home and seeing his wife again, as she is not allowed to visit due to Covid rules.
He said: “The work the surgeons and staff have done is absolutely amazing - they are unbelievable.
“There are no words that can express how thankful I am to all of the teams that have cared for me. Everyone has been amazing, and so kind – not just to me, they have been so supportive to my wife back at home, too.”
Miss O’Brien said the operation had been a true team effort and was delighted to see her “incredibly inspirational patient” on the mend.
She said: “He has a very positive outlook and is motivated in the face of what has been a life-changing industrial injury.
“The operation on Mr Wright’s hand was the result of a highly-coordinated response from so many professionals working efficiently together.
“This included the ambulance and helicopter crew who brought Mr Wright to the emergency department, the Pulvertaft Hand Centre theatre team who performed the surgery whilst supported by their anaesthetic colleagues and subsequently nursing and therapy staff on the ward and in the clinic.
“Due to the nature of the injury, the surgery came with additional challenges; this resulted in an eleven-and-a-half hour operation to reattach Mr Wright’s amputated hand.
“This was an extremely complex procedure which involved five consultant surgeons from the Pulvertaft Hand Centre, as well as a wider multi-disciplinary team.
“The combined skill set of the team with backgrounds including plastic and orthopaedic training was fundamental to achieving the very positive outcome that at this early stage we are all so pleased to witness.”
She added it was “very unusual” to reattach the whole hand.
“This is not just a physical injury but has a huge psychological impact on a patient and it is vital that mixed skill sets are involved to support patients with these injuries both immediately and in the months to follow to achieve a good outcome,” Miss O’Brien said.
“It’s a testament to the ability and professionalism of the whole team to come together despite a pandemic that makes it such a privilege to be part of the Pulvertaft Hand Centre.”
The work the surgeons and staff have done is absolutely amazing they are unbelievable.
Christopher Wright