Severed hand saved after being attached to ankle

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Doctors at a local hospital initially told Xiao Wei that they would not be able to save his hand, which was cut off at the wrist by a machine at his work on 10 November.

Speaking about the accident near Changde in Hunan Province, China, Mr Xiao said "I was just shocked and frozen at the spot, until co-workers unplugged the machine and retrieved my hand and took me to the hospital.

"I am still young, and I couldn't imagine life without a right hand."

Mr Xiao was then transferred to a larger regional hospital in Changsha, where he was told that reattachment surgery could be successful - but only after the rest of his right arm had recovered. In order to keep the hand alive during the wait, doctors said they had no choice but to graft it onto his ankle, which would provide the hand with a proper blood supply.

The doctors explained: "His injury was severe. Besides ripping injuries, his arm was also flattened.

"We had to clear and treat his injuries before taking on the hand reattachment surgery."

On 10 December it was decided Mr Xiao had sufficiently recovered for the hand to be reattached. Doctors said the operation went well, and although he will need to undergo several other surgeries, they are optimistic he will regain full use of his hand.

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