A surgical team at Rumailah Hospital of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) have succeeded in reattaching a 55 years-old man's arm after being amputated in an accident. The complex surgery is thought to be the first of its kind performed in Qatar.
Senior consultant, Plastic and Hand Surgeon Dr Mohamed Murshid al-Delaimi, who lead the surgical team, said the surgery was a success because of the skill and experience of the involved first responders and medical teams, including the rehabilitation team at Rumailah Hospital.
"The patient was admitted to the operating room within seven hours of the accident occurring. The delicate re-attachment surgery was completed in nine hours," said Dr al- Delaimi, who led the surgical team.
He said the procedure was complex because of the requirement to repair muscles, tendons, arteries, nerves, and veins. Much of the surgery was performed using specialized instruments under a microscope.
"There are a number of steps in the replantation process. After the damaged tissue was removed and the bone stabilized, the surgical team connected the arteries, veins, nerves, and tissues of the amputated portion to the forearm using microscopic surgery. Through his efforts working with our rehabilitation team, the patient has been able to resume many of his normal daily activities," said Dr al- Delaimi.
Orthopaedic Surgery Specialist Dr Mutasim al-Mahi said, "The goal of replantation surgery is to give the patient back as much use of the affected body part as possible. In order to allow the hand surgery team to focus on their work of reconnecting the blood vessels and to get blood flowing properly again, it was first necessary to create a strong foundation by repairing the damage to the bone".
In addition to the skill of the medical and surgical teams involved, the success of a reattachment surgery depends on a number of factors, including the patients overall health and the damage to the affected body part. Getting the nerves to work again, restoring feeling, and stimulating new nerve growth is often the bigger challenge and can involve several months of rehabilitation.