by Vu Kim Chung
9-6-2000
The Army Hospital 108 in Hanoi was successful in re-attaching a man’s severed leg in an operation in May 2000.
Mr Tran Ba Quay, 27, from Bac Ninh province, had an accident when he was trying to fix the machine of a boat. His leg was cut off when the accident happened. Medical workers in his village used homeostatic bandage to prevent bleeding and put the severed part of his leg into a plastic bag covered with ice and sent him to the hospital.
After a six-hour operation, surgeons at the hospital successfully rejoined Mr Quay’s leg. One month after the operation, Mr Quay was recovering well.
This is the first time a severed leg has been re-attached at the hospital but surgeons there have been able to re-attach hands and fingers many times before.