Girl gets severed finger back, thanks to Thuvarankurichi government hospital

TIRUCHY: A 12-year-old girl who accidentally severed her finger along with the bone, got it reattached on time, thanks to Thuvarankurichi government hospital and the orthopedic doctor there. A video of the girl and her mother narrating the events has gone viral on social media.

Sangeetha, a daily wage labourer is separated from her husband and lives with her daughter Saranya. Saranya was cutting some cane, and mistakenly severed her finger. They wrapped her finger with a handkerchief and went to nearby private hospitals. As they needed a special surgery to be done to reattach the finger, they were directed to Thuvarankurichi government hospital.

John Vishwanath, an orthopedic doctor of the hospital attended her. With the help of some nurses and doctors, John Vishwanath attached her finger back with a surgery that lasted nearly two hours.

Recalling the surgery done on January 25, John Vishwanath told TNIE, “ The mother did not give up till the end. I brought my own equipment like fine suture, microscope and other items. On my direction, nurses received the severed part of the finger and preserved it safely. The fingers’ blood vessels, soft tissues and skin were carefully sutured. The bones were attached using a intra medulary needle.” Vishwanathan said that while the surgery by itself was complicated, doing it on a small girl’s little finger made it all the more challenging.

The doctor said that such a surgery was available only in a handful of hospitals in the State and it may cost up to Rs 2 lakh. However, due to such fortunate turn of events, the girl received it for free at their government hospital itself.

Further about the hospital, he said, “A Trauma Emergency Initiation Centre for attending more accident/emergency cases would help a lot.