Cuttack: In a rare surgery, doctors of the Plastic Surgery Department of SCB Medical College & Hospital (SCBMC&H) have successfully transplanted the second toe of a patient’s left foot in place of his missing right thumb.
A team of eight doctors led by the Head of Plastic Surgery Department Prof (Dr) Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak took nearly eight hours to conduct the complex surgery which is said to be the first of its kind in the State.
Sitakanta Barik, a 25-year-old youth from Bhadrak district while working in a spinning mill had lost his right hand thumb in an accident. Barik was facing great difficulty due to thumb deficiency and was out of job.
“I lost my thumb while working on a machine in Tamil Nadu,” said Barik.
Three months back Barik had visited SCB seeking a solution for his lost thumb.
Here he met Prof Nayak, who advised him that his lost thumb can be recreated provided he was prepared to lose one of his toes.
Barik agreed to Prof Nayak’s proposal. Prof Nayak suggested for conducting the rare surgery in the first week of January 2023.
“He got admitted on the appointed date. It took us ten days’ time for preparation–to prepare him psychologically and complete the investigations. From our investigation we found his thumb loss to be of 9 cm, the patient is unable do any work with his right hand due to thumb deficiency and is in a disturbed state of mind,” said Prof Nayak.
Barik was told by Prof Nayak that it would be a rare surgery and second toe of his feet will be transplanted on the hand where the lost thumb existed.
“All structures of the second toe–bone, tendon, blood vessels, nerves, etc were dissected and transplanted in place of the thumb. We joined all corresponding nerves which were earlier dissected. There were eight surgeons in our team and it took almost eight hours of surgery. It is a rare surgery where delicate blood vessels are joined,” explained Prof Nayak.
Prof Nayak informed that the surgery was conducted ten days back and the danger zone has been crossed.
The transferred toe is fully normal and it normally takes a month and a half to two months for the functioning of the tendons and nerves, he added.
“I am a right hander so this finger was essential for me to work. Now it’s in good condition,” said Barik.
