Man loses both hands in accident, gets life saving doctors

Chetan, a PUC drop-out, had nowhere to go when he lost his father a few years ago. The 18-year-old decided to work to support his family.

In 2009, he joined Ashwin Printing Press in Kamakshipalya and has been working there for two years.

All was well until last week, when within a fraction of a second, he lost both his hands while operating a paper-cutting machine.

The machine’s sharp blades cut off his forearms and Chetan fell unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital. He had lost hopes of using his hands again when a medical miracle occurred. A week after the accident, specialists from Panacea Hospital examined him and offered a ray of hope.

They performed a four-and-a-half hour surgery on him.

The team of doctors consisted of an anaesthetist, two orthopaedic surgeons, and one plastic micro-vascular surgeon.

“One-third of Chetan’s lower arms were crushed. What has made the case rare is that both hands were amputated at the same level. Usually, it takes two teams to perform the surgery, one on each arm and the surgery takes no less than six or eight hours. But, in this case, with a single team, we managed to complete the surgery in four-and-a-half hours,’’ said Dr Vasudev K, consultant, orthopaedic surgeon.

After the surgery, Chetan was kept in an isolated chamber to prevent infection.

Three hours after surgery, the patient was comfortable and was shifted to the ward.

"The surgery was successful. We replanted both his arms. While Chetan will be discharged in a week, he will require a follow-up check and dressing once every five days for the next two months. This will be followed by physiotherapy sessions for the next three to six months,” said Dr Priyadarshan, consultant, plastic and micro-vascular surgeon.

“I had joined this printing press to earn my livelihood and I will continue working there in the future as well,” said an optimistic Chetan.