Medics at Kenyatta National Hospital Successfully Replant Kenyan Boy's Severed Hand

It was joy for a 17-year-old Kenyan boy and his family after medics at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) successfully re-attached his hand, after it was severed by a chaff cutter last month.

The procedure, which is reportedly the first of its kind in Sub-saharan Africa, was performed by a team comprising of 15 surgeons, anesthetists and nurses at Kenya's largest medical facility.

Joseph Theuri accidentally chopped off one of his upper limb while cleaning the machine used for cutting straw into smaller pieces.

“I only realized my hand was missing when I saw a pool of blood in the cloth I was using to clean the machine,” he said, adding that the machine switched on as he was cleaning it.

Theuri was referred from Kiambu Level V Hospital on January 26th and it took seven hours for the experts at KNH to successfully replant the detached hand.

“We started the procedure immediately, working from 10pm to 6am the following day to attach the nerves, tendon and blood vessels. We also needed to align the bones,” said one of the lead surgeons, Dr Nang’ole Wanjala.

The team split into two, one team worked on preparing the severed hand, while the other worked on the stump of the forearm.

“We received the patient that evening and what amazed us was that his hand had been preserved in cooler box. This helped keep the cells of the hand alive,” Nang’ole added.

The doctors are confident that Theuri's hand will regain full functionality after the procedure. University of Nairobi proffessor Stanley Khainga helped Dr Nang’ole in overseeing the whole procedure.