Ho Chi Minh City surgeons reattach hand after 2 months of preservation in pregnant woman’s leg

The operation marks an exceptional and deeply humane achievement, highlighting the hospital’s growing expertise in microsurgery.

The patient, 20-year-old L.N.P., was 23 weeks pregnant when she was hospitalized in September with severe trauma: the lower third of her right forearm had been crushed in a workplace accident, and her right hand had been completely severed.

To save the limb, surgeons performed a rare and highly technical procedure, temporarily attaching the hand to her right calf.

This advanced microsurgical technique requires absolute precision to keep the tissue viable until conditions allow reattachment.

On November 17, P. returned to the hospital in stable condition.

Ultrasound scans showed healthy 34-week twins with normal heart activity and amniotic fluid.

She expressed her wish to have her hand reattached so she could regain daily function and care for her babies after birth.

The hospital convened a multidisciplinary consultation involving anesthesiology, orthopedics, obstetrics, intensive care, hematology, and nutrition.

Specialists from Tu Du Hospital and Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopaedics also provided remote guidance. 

Throughout the operation, fetal heart rates were continuously monitored to ensure maximum safety for the mother and her babies.

The surgery lasted several hours and involved some of the most challenging procedures in reconstructive microsurgery.

Surgeons detached the hand from the leg along with a 15-centimeter segment of the posterior tibial artery, prepared the forearm stump and fixed the radius bone using plates and screws, restored circulation by reconnecting one artery and three veins, and reconstructed lost tendons and nerves using grafts from the peroneus longus tendon and a branch of the superficial peroneal nerve.

According to the medical team, the operation’s success relied on extreme focus and technical precision.

Immediately after surgery, the reattached hand was warm and pink, with excellent blood flow and oxygen saturation of 98-100 percent at the fingertips.

The patient was conscious, able to eat, and could make slight finger movements under physiotherapy guidance.

The twins remained stable with normal heart rhythms and no complications.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health praised the surgery for not only saving the patient’s hand, but also demonstrating the commitment, responsibility, and effective multidisciplinary coordination of Binh Duong General Hospital in managing an exceptionally complex case.

The successful operation represents a significant step forward for local healthcare in the reconstructive microsurgery field and carries profound human meaning: helping a future mother preserve her hand so she can care for her two babies once they are born.