Patient is expected to regain most of the hand function following physiotherapy.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Doctors at Tawam Hospital, part of the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), the UAE’s largest healthcare network, successfully conducted a complex emergency hand replantation surgery that lasted nine hours, on a patient who lost his hand in an industrial accident. The plastic and reconstructive surgery team was able to restore blood circulation in the severed arm within two hours using microsurgery technique and the patient was able to move his fingers within a week of the surgery.

Replantation surgeries involve the surgical reattachment of a body part (such as the hand, fingers, or toes), with an average survival rate of the replanted parts being 80%. The success of the replantation surgery depends on several factors – the type of injury being of most importance. Usually, sharp injuries produce the best overall results, while crush or avulsion amputations (an injury in which a body structure is torn off by trauma) produce relatively poor outcomes. Additionally, age, area of injury, and joint vs. non joint injuries are some factors that affect recovery.

Elaborating further on the surgery, Dr. Ammar Al Dhamin, Plastic, Reconstructive and Microsurgery Consultant, Tawam Hospital, at SEHA, said: “Replantation surgeries can be complex and highly technical. The patient presented to us with a hand severed from his wrist, an industrial injury. Elapsed time is highly crucial; as one of the most important factors to a successful replantation is less than 6 hours in the structures contain muscles. In this case, we restored blood circulation within two hours, and the patient could start moving his fingers within a week. We expect he will need extensive physiotherapy in the future, but his recovery so far has been fantastic.” Surgery team who perform the procedure also includes local Emiratis surgeons, Dr. Latifa Abdulla Al Dhaheri, Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Hamad Ahmed Aldhaheri, Medical Resident and Dr. Mohammed Nadir Sekkal, Specialist Physician, from orthopedic team.  

Tawam Hospital is a JCI accredited, integrated and tertiary referral hospital encompassing major specialties and medical facilities such as ICU, ER, MRI, X-Ray, pathology, laboratory, pharmacy, specialty clinics, academic programs hospital with highly experienced and qualified medical consultants, and characterized by an efficient appointment process and less waiting time.

To find out more about Tawam Hospital’s surgical capabilities, please call 800 50 or visit www.seha.ae/. You can also book an appointment through the SEHA Mobile app or WhatsApp us on 02-4102200.