On 28/4, a representative from Quang Tri General Hospital reported significant progress one week after surgery: the patient's foot is warm and pink, capillary refill is good, and the toes can move slightly.
The accident occurred on the morning of 21/4. While the man was mowing, the lawnmower blade unexpectedly broke off, severing his left ankle. The victim lost a lot of blood and became unconscious. Huong Hoa Regional General Hospital activated an inter-hospital emergency protocol with Quang Tri Provincial General Hospital to facilitate direct professional guidance and swift transfer.
Emergency responders carefully preserved the severed limb, wrapping it in sterile gauze, placing it in a sealed bag, and then submerging it in a cooler with ice. Following initial first aid, the patient and the severed limb were promptly transferred to Quang Tri Hospital for emergency reattachment surgery.
The complex surgery lasted 4,5 hours. The surgical team meticulously prepared the severed limb, cleaning all damaged tissue. They then temporarily fixed the bone and reconnected major blood vessels, including the anterior and posterior tibial arteries, to restore circulation. Finally, the team reconnected tendons, muscles, and nerves to preserve future foot function. Once blood flow was reestablished, the foot quickly regained its natural warm, pink color.
According to the doctors, limb reattachment surgery is a highly intricate microsurgical technique that involves many precise and sequential steps. The primary challenge lies in simultaneously reconstructing multiple critical components: bone, major arteries, tendons, muscles, and the nervous system.
This type of surgery demands extremely high microsurgical precision to ensure optimal restoration of both the limb's anatomical structure and its function. For this patient, the crucial period from the work accident until admission at Quang Tri Provincial General Hospital was approximately two hours of limb ischemia. This timeframe is considered the "golden hour" for successful reattachment, yet it presented a very tight limit for limb preservation.
Dac Thanh
