Rare surgery in Odisha hospital; Doctors replant thumb with toe

Cuttack: In a first in Odisha, a team of doctors at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack successfully swapped a patient’s lost thumb with one of his toes.

The rare surgery was carried out by a doctors’ team led by Prof Dr Bibhuti Bhushan Nayak, the HOD of Plastic Surgery Department at SCB Medical College and Hospital, on a patient, whose 9 cm-long thumb was severed with a machine while working in a spinning mill months ago.

According to reports, Sitakant Barik from Bhadrak district had lost his right thumb during work at a spinning mill in Tamil Nadu. As the 25-year-old youth was facing complications to execute all types of work without thump following the incident, he consulted consulted the doctors at the state-run hospital for thumb replant.

The patient was admitted to the plastic surgery department for treatment three months ago. A team of doctors started preparation for the rare surgery following counselling of the patient in first phase. They replanted the thumb with second toe of left leg. The surgery was conducted 10 days ago at the hospital.

“It was a rare surgery that we conducted here on the patient, who was mentally disturbed after losing his right thumb. We have crossed 10 days, the danger period, and found the toe, which was transferred from the leg and positioned it on the right hand, was completely normal,” said Dr Bibhuti Bhushan Nayak.

“I lost my thumb during work and the company owner had taken me to the hospital for treatment. As the thumb is necessary for work, I consulted the doctors at SCB Hospital who suggested me for thumb replant with left leg’s long toe,” the patient said.

“Now, I am feeling relieved that I can work properly with my reattached finger,” he said.