LAHORE: A team of Children’s Hospital doctors successfully reattached the severed hand of a six-year-old boy during a 12-hour surgical procedure on Sunday.

The condition of Muhammad Haroon was stated to be satisfactory at the intensive care unit of hospital after the complicated procedure, said plastic surgeon Dr Aslam Rao.

Haroon had his right-hand amputated while cutting fodder in a machine in a Kasur village early in the morning. He was brought to the emergency ward of the Children’s Hospital where general surgeon on duty Dr Fawwad informed plastic surgeon Dr Aslam Rao about the condition of the child.

Along with surgeons Dr Waseem and Dr Hassan besides anesthesia specialists Dr Sajjad and Dr Faraz, Dr Rao successfully reattached two major arteries, three veins, three nerves and 16 muscles of the child with his hand.

Talking to newsmen after the surgery, Dr Rao said mostly women and children got serious injuries while using fodder cutter (toka) machines in rural areas.

Stressing the need for legislation to ban use of fodder cutter by minors, he called for launching awareness campaigns regarding hazards and safety measures in using agricultural machine.

To a question, Dr Rao said life quality of thousands of people could be preserved by re-attaching the severed body parts. “The severed body part should immediately be wrapped in a wet clothe and put in a jar filled with ice. The area of the body should also be wrapped with a wet clothe and no substance to completely stop bleeding should be applied. The sooner the patient is brought to the plastic surgeon the more the chances of successfully reattaching the severed part,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2018