AJ Hospital team transfers toe to hand

Mangalore Today Nes Network

Mangalore, April 7: A team of AJ Hospital doctors performed a successful toe-to-hand transfer surgery and spoke to journalists about it at a press conference held at the Press Club in Mangalore on April 7, Thursday.

Micro vascular plastic surgery has turned out to be a life saver for several people who have lost their limbs in accidents. Dr Dinesh Kadam of AJ Hospital has performed hundreds of successful micro vascular plastic surgeries.

Performing a micro vascular plastic surgery is not very easy because of delay in reaching the hospital and crushed and unsuitable parts. However, there is hope for such patients because important digits such as the thumb can be reconstructed by using the toe of the foot. The toe is then transferred to the hand through skilled micro vascular procedures.

The toe strongly resembles the thumb in function and appearance. A toe that is transferred to the hand can function as the thumb and will feel like the rest of the fingers. This method of reconstruction, though well-known, is rarely performed because the surgery is technically complex. Moreover, patients are unwilling to undergo the surgery and lose their toe in the process.

The AJ Hospital team has performed such an operation for the first time in the region. The team comprised Dr. Dinesh Kadam, the head of Plastic and Micro Vascular Surgery Department; Dr. Sanath Bhandary, the plastic surgeon; Dr. Rajesh; and Dr. Murali Shankar and Dr. Trivikram Tantry, the anesthetists.