Surat: A 49-year-old NRI narrowly avoided permanent disability after a horse bit off the tip of his thumb at a farmhouse in Mangrol on Sunday morning, with surgeons in Surat successfully reattaching the severed digit through a time-critical microsurgery.The incident occurred when the NRI was feeding a horse carrots and other items at his farmhouse. The animal suddenly bit him, tearing off his thumb with such force that a long tendon remained attached to the severed part.He was rushed to a private hospital in Adajan, where a team comprising a plastic surgeon, anaesthetist and support staff conducted an emergency microsurgery to reattach the thumb.Dr Viral Patel, plastic and reconstructive surgeon who led the procedure, said, “This was a microsurgery done using a microscope as it involves joining very small blood vessels and arteries. In such incidents of body parts being severed, six hours are considered the golden period as it is more likely that the part will be saved if the surgery is done within six hours.”Doctors also reconstructed the damaged tendon and repositioned it during the procedure. They also used a small wire to stabilize the fracture caused by the bite.Given that the injury involved an animal bite, the patient was administered a rabies vaccine along with rabies immunoglobulin as a precaution.“After the surgery, the patient will be kept under observation for five days to see the thumb is established well. After that, the patient needs to go for physiotherapy for a couple of months to regain movement of the thumb,” the doctor added.Sources close to the patient said he is an avid horse lover who owns several expensive horses at his farmhouse and frequently visits his native place because of his interest in maintaining and caring for them.
