Abu Dhabi: A 27-year-old Emirati woman has had her arm reattached following a road accident that severed the limb from her left shoulder.
The injury was so severe that it had damaged her arm muscles, as well as the main blood vessel that supplies blood to it and two main nerves that provides sensation.
The reconstructive surgery took place at Mafraq Hospital, a public health care facility on the outskirts of the capital that is owned by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) and specialises in the care of trauma and burns patients. “The accident had left the patient’s bicep, and part of her tricep, completely damaged. So a vein was taken from her leg to replace the main artery of her arm and restore blood flow. In addition, a blade was inserted to replace the crushed bone. We also removed a muscle from her back through microsurgery to replace the bicep. These actions helped save her limb,” Dr Miqdad Al Hammadi, plastic surgery chief and deputy medical director at Mafraq, told Gulf News.
A team of microsurgeons, vascular surgeons and orthopaedic surgeons worked to save the patient’s arm from amputation.
Following this, the patient was discharged. However, she still cannot move her arm, and will require two other procedures that can restore about 95 per cent function to the limb over time, Dr Al Hammadi said.
“In the second surgery, more muscles will be transferred to her upper arm and elbow region to allow the elbow joint to move. Finally, some muscles and tendons from the front of her arm will be moved to the back to allow her fingers to move,” he explained.
The doctor explained that the patient’s injury was rare because it had not been a clean cut. Instead, the limb was severed and there was much crush injury to it as well, which has made the reconstruction process lengthy and difficult.
“We do hundreds of microsurgeries every year, but just about one that is so severe,” he said.
After the surgeries are completed, the patient will also have to undergo physiotherapy to regain function and movement in her limb.
