Mumbai doctors reattach rail accident victim's arm in seven-hour surgery

MUMBAI: Doctors of R N Cooper Hospital at Juhu reattached the severed arm of an Ahmedabad resident who had fallen onto the railway tracks at Andheri on his maiden visit to the city, after a seven-hour surgery. The patient, Dharmendra, a 28-year-old labourer, is showing signs of recovery a month after the surgery, said a BMC press release.
"The operation is called replantation surgery.The orthopedic team first fixed the arm and then, I fixed the severed nerves and blood vessels," said plastic surgeon Nitin Ghag of Cooper Hospital. He said Dharmendra will take another eight to 10 months to regain complete sensation and functionality. "At present, he feels tingling sensations and numbness which is in tune with the recovery process," Dr Ghag added.
After Dhamendra met with the accident on May 5, his friend travelling with him preserved the arm in a plastic bag. The local police rushed him to Cooper Hospital where the operation began at 1am and ended at 8am the next day. Dharmendra, father of three, is the sole breadwinner in his family.
The same team had reattached a Mumbaikar's ankles that were severed due to electric shock three months ago.