A SURGEON from Broomfield Hospital has managed to reattach a man's hand after it was severed in an industrial accident.
Mak Tare, a consultant plastic surgeon, spent ten hours painstakingly wiring 37-year-old Atushkumar Patel's bones, tendons and nerves back together after his four fingers and part of his hand were chopped off by a machine he was cleaning.
And just five weeks after his horrific accident, Mr Patel has managed to regain the movement and feeling in his fingers.
Mr Tare, of Patching Hall Lane, Chelmsford, said: "Mr Patel is the sole breadwinner, has two young children and is right-handed, so we knew we had to do everything we could to save his hand.
"From the accident to the procedure you have about six hours to get into surgery, so it's quite high-pressured.
"I've never seen a case like this at the hospital but your training immediately kicks in and you know what to do."
Mr Patel had been cleaning a machine when it automatically started, slicing off his hand.
He said: "The machine started, I don't know how and my hand was caught.
"I instantly felt pain and the machine part that had started carries parts and drops them into another part of the machine and that's what it had done with my hand.
"I was very shocked, but the hospital and Mr Tare have been fantastic.
"I can't believe what they've managed to do."
Mr Patel spent 20 days in hospital and underwent another six-hour operation to attach skin and blood vessels from his thigh on to his hand.
Mr Tare, who has worked at Broomfield for ten years, said: "I'm delighted with how things have progressed so far and the team really have done a miraculous job.
"If you can only save one person's hand in your career then it's most definitely worth it," he added.
"These type of injuries are much more rare in this country but they are still common abroad where there is a lot of manual labour.
"Mr Patel underwent two big operations and is now undergoing physiotherapy.
"But we hope he'll be able to return to work very soon. Broomfield is a centre of excellence in this sort of surgery because of the infrastructure we have in place and the fact that we're able to mobilise our resources so quickly to deal with traumas like this.
"It was a remarkable case to work on and Mr Patel has become quite famous in the hospital, with what we've managed to achieve."
Karen Hibberd, associate practitioner, who was working on the night Mr Patel came in, said: "He was amazing throughout.
"He didn't faint and was smiling all the time.
"Everyone in the hospital has been talking about the procedure. It's been fantastic to be part of something so amazing."
