New Delhi: Swift action by his employer and colleagues helped save the life and limb of a 22-year-old daily wager whose right wrist was severed from the stump completely while working on a machine at a sheet cutting factory in Greater Noida. After a challenging 17-hours long surgery, the wrist was replanted at BLK Super Speciality Hospital by team of 7 experts and 2 surgeons led Dr.Lokesh Kumar.
The employer and colleagues of Kamlesh, a daily wage worker wasted no time in rushing to a local hospital when his wrist got stuck under the machine and was ripped off completely in the wee hours of the night at 1:30 am. The severed part was preserved in the ice bag immediately at the nearby clinic and the patient was then referred to BLK Super Speciality Hospital for immediate surgery.
Dr Lokesh Kumar, Director & HoD, BLK Centre for Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery, BLK Super Speciality Hospital, said, “Once Kamlesh reached us we started the surgery in no time which lasted till next day late night. The procedure continued till the next day late night. Window period for a successful replant of the severed limb is 6 hours. The team made sure that all the initial investigations were performed in time as any delay could have been detrimental to the success of the surgery.
Kamlesh was quickly taken to the operation theater after stabilization. The severed part had squashed arteries and nerves; the challenge was to precisely identify each and separate them. Arteries, nerves and tendons of the amputated part was fixed to the stump using K wires, which held the severed hand together in place before titanium plates were inserted to join the bones. Then the titanium plates were inserted and bolted on to join the bones.
Microscopic surgery was performed to save the hand after tendon and nerve repair was done, explained Dr. Kumar. Dr. Anil Kumar Murarka, Sr. Consultant, Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery, said, “The re-plantation surgery took almost 17-hours. Re-plantation is a very delicate surgery and requires marriage of two fields of medical study to work at parlance. The seamless coordination of the whole team saved Kamlesh from a condition which could have pushed him into lifetime of disability.“The 22-year-old is the sole bread earner of his family, doing manual job at a local factory which requires his physical condition to be in order. The repercussions of this incident might have led to the loss of his wage earning capacity. The preservation and the immediate response of the medical team saved a family from loosing their only source of income.
Kamlesh is doing good now and showing consistent improvement on a daily basis. He can move his fingers and has partial wrist movement. It would take about 6 weeks to naturally regenerate his bone strength and muscle movement, saving him from being a crippled for lifetime. Kamlesh was admitted at BLK Super Speciality Hospital on November 10 and was discharged the next day as he showed quick signs of improvement