Armenian man cuts off thumb in U.S., has it replaced with a big toeMarch 22, 2018 - 22:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Melo Hairapetian, a U.S. citizen of Armenian descent, was trimming wood one day when the unthinkable happened: in a matter of seconds, the saw made a quick and powerful cut across the palm of his hand. His thumb was gone and his pinky was dangling. “My knee buckled, caught my jacket and pulled my hand right through the circular saw,” Melo said. Doctors tried to salvage his thumb, but it didn’t take because the finger and joint were too badly damaged. A few months later, the 45-year-old opted for Plan B, a rare procedure to replace the missing thumb with one of his own toes, Wgntv.com reports. “I need a thumb. I can’t live with just three fingers on one hand. You can’t do anything. You can’t pick up, you can’t brush your teeth, you can’t put deodorant on, can’t do a button, can’t do a zipper. I knew right away I had to have it,”Melo said. Melo said he first heard about the surgery on T.V. when he was a kid. It’s not a common procedure, but hand surgeons learn about it during their training. “This is an incredibly complicated procedure that all of my training has prepared me for,” said Dr. Sonya Agnew, a hand surgeon from Loyola Medicine. In a 16-hour surgery, Loyola Medicine hand surgeons Sonya Agnew and Sameer Puri worked as a team, one at Melo’s foot, the other at his hand, simultaneously preparing each area for the delicate transfer. “Once the toe has been removed, we place it on the base of the thumb and fix the bone together so it’s nice and stable. And then we can do the delicate microsurgery and repair the tendons and the skin as well,” Dr. Agnew said. On X-ray it’s tough to tell the difference; the toe looks pretty natural as a thumb. And at the foot, what’s missing hasn’t left Melo unsteady on his feet. Dr. Agnew said patients can recover balance because they leave behind the knuckle part of the toe. “The hardest thing about the big toe, when it’s not there the toe next in line has to be the big toe. And you don’t realize what kind of work your toe is doing. To get those muscles to strengthen up, it took a while. It’s very painful,” Melo said. Because his original injury was so severe, the lower joint in Melo’s new thumb is fixed, so the new appendage acts more like a post. But it still allows Melo to have significantly more function. Melo said he's now doing, "100 percent" more than he could before. It hasn’t come easy. For months, he's been working with occupational therapist Kim Esposito to relearn simple tasks. Photo: WGN News / YouTube Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |