Surgeons in Brazil have implanted a factory worker's hand into his abdomen in an effort to save it from amputation.
Carlos Mariotti severed two of his fingers while working on a machine that accidentally sucked in his hand. Mariotti's hand was swathed in bandages before he was rushed to the hospital in hopes that the hand could still be saved.
To save the hand from rotting, orthopedic and traumatology surgeon Dr. Boris Brandão implanted Mariotti's hand in an abdominal pocket where it will stay there for 42 days to help the hand heal and allow for growth of new tissues and tendons. The hand must be kept alive so it can receive a replanted skin graft.
Although the operation would allow tissue and tendon growth, regaining full functionality of the 42-year-old factory worker would be unlikely.
"[H]e will have a working hand and will be able to do the pincer movement. At least this is a better quality of life compared to having an amputated hand," Brandão said.
Brandão is also hoping to give Mariotti's hand a skin graft to save it, citing a previous surgery done in China last July.
The method of grafting a damaged hand is not new, in fact, it was performed several times before.
In September 2015, an 87-year-old man also had his severely burned hand implanted in his stomach to allow the skin graft a time to heal.
A study, published in the Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery, discussed how skin grafting is a standard method of reconstruction for degloving injuries similar to Mariotti's case. However, it does have disadvantages depending on the severity and location of the injury.
Japanese scientists were able to develop an artificial skin that allows hair growth and sweating. If further developed, the said technique of skin transplantation could benefit patients like Mariotti.
