MANGALORE: A sailor working on a Japanese tanker escaped from the stigma of an amputated finger on his 'working hand,' after accessing a microsurgery in the nick of time.
The 42-year-old sailor, of Manila in Philippines sailing on a Japanese tanker ship, Sunny Express, got his fingers of the right hand entangled in heavy steel cables.
With both the injured fingers moving well, it was assumed that the sailor was lucky to have escaped without a major injury.
However Dr MS Puttran at the New Mangalore Port who examined the patient referred him to orthopaedic surgeon Dr Ramachandra of Athena Hospital. The orthopaedician suspected a vascular injury after discovering the dark coloured ring finger.
Plastic and microvascular surgeon Dr Satish Bhat confirmed total absence of blood circulation and the team decided on an emergency microvascular surgery to restore the blood flow.
Without microsurgery, gangrene and later amputation was inevitable if the injury was not attended to within 12 hours. The delicate microsurgery which required sutures thinner than human hair successfully restored the circulation and oxygen supply to the finger.
The patient recovered and reunited with his family in Manila.