Dog Severs 2.5-Year-Old Girl’s Thumb, Reattached in 4-Hour Microsurgery: 90% Function Expected

In the village of Undel in the Anand district, on January 12, the 12-year-old daughter of the Patel family was bitten by a dog. As a result, she was supposed to be given a rabies vaccine. However, on January 28 during the same time period, she was bitten again by the same dog in front of her house, resulting in the detachment of her thumb. When the child’s mother came out of the house, she noticed that the thumb was missing and a dog was running away with it.

Mother Fights off the Dog

The mother of the girl bravely fought off the dog with a stick. Consequently, the dog dropped the thumb and ran away. People from the girl’s family took her to the nearby CHC center, where she received primary care. Due to the availability of a senior doctor, she was immediately referred to the Krishna Hospital near Vaishnodevi Circle in Ahmedabad.

Surgery Lasted 4 Hours

The most crucial aspect here is how to transport the detached thumb to the hospital? Guidance was provided to the family, suggesting to wrap the detached thumb in clean cloth, place it in a bag, and bring it to the hospital in an icebox. Upon reaching the hospital, the thumb underwent primary tests and was reattached to the hand with the help of microsurgery performed by Dr. Karn Maheshwari. The surgery lasted for about 4 hours.

Thumb Expected to Function 90% After Surgery

Another important point is that immediate transportation of the detached thumb to the hospital is vital because delayed reattachment reduces the chances of successful functioning after surgery. After the surgery, the thumb is expected to function 90% as it did before.

Previous Attacks on Several People

Chirag Patel, the girl’s father, stated that stray dog attacks are a major issue in their village. He emphasized the need for immediate action by the municipality to catch these dogs. Several people have been attacked by these dogs, and what happened to his daughter could happen to anyone else. It’s worth mentioning that Dr. Karn Maheshwari is skilled in hand and microsurgery. Previously, he successfully reattached a detached thumb with a sword attack victim and helped a woman regain her brain and throat functions through microsurgical procedures.