MTRH Successfully Re-Attaches Amputated Limb On Patient After 11-Hour Painstaking Surgery

• Doctors at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) have successfully reattached an amputated limb on a patient codenamed BK
• The 35-year-old man was admitted to the hospital following a traumatic amputation of his left hand at the wrist
• Through an intricate 11-hour surgical procedure, the skilled medics achieved the remarkable feat of rejoining the severed hand, marking a significant achievement in the field of medicine

Medics at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) have successfully performed a rare operation to re-implant a traumatically amputated limb.

According to a statement by MTRH, the meticulous procedure is one of the rarest surgeries across East Africa.

Operation last 11 hours

The statement disclosed that the patient, a 35-year-old male codenamed BK who does menial jobs, suffered a left hand traumatic amputation through the wrist.

Details indicate that patient BK was injured on Tuesday, August 8, and was referred to the facility from Sigowet Subcounty Hospital, Kericho.

He arrived at MTRH at around 4pm and was taken to theatre within 15 minutes of arrival while his amputated limb was preserved in a cooler box.

"In the theatre, two teams alternately re-attached the limb including revascularization and completed the successful implantation at 3am after a whopping 11 hours marathon surgery," the report says.

Patient recovering well

The patient was then admitted to the Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU) overnight then the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for monitoring and IV Heparin infusion.

He completed the IV infusion 48 hours later on Thursday, August 10 with the limb splinted and rehabilitation initiated.

As of the time of filing this report, the patient was doing well post-operatively and had been moved from ICU to the General Orthopedics (Male) ward.

"He will continue with daily reviews/initiation of Occupational Therapy Rehabilitation. The hand is vitally and successfully re-established with good Doppler ultrasound findings," the report continues.

Kenya only has 3 hand specialist surgeons

According to the MTRH statement, Kenya has only three hand specialist surgeons; one in Nairobi, another in Nakuru, and the third at their facility.

The highly specialised surgery is part of a partnership between the referral hospital and the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Health and the National Treasury and Economic Planning).

"It's part of the fruits of the long-range goal of developing multi-and sub-specialty surgical and medical skills, and continual staff capacity development," the report reads in part.

100th Caesarian section milestone

In another story, Dr Emmanuel Daudi was over the moon after performing his 100th caesarian section years after he first stepped into a theatre room.

The medical officer was very happy that everything went well as expected and all mothers and their babies are okay.

He explained that he is very passionate about maternal and neonatal health and uses his position as a doctor to educate mothers on childbearing in an effort to reduce neonatal mortality.