NORFOLK, Va. — After his thumb was smashed in an accident with a steel beam on a construction site, a Hampton Roads worker feared he may not be able to continue to work.
That's where Sentara plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Manas Nigam came in.
Using techniques common in Asia for cosmetic and cultural purposes, Nigam replaced the thumb with one of the patient's toes.
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“We considered an extension device or a prosthetic,” Dr. Nigam said, “but that’s not the same as a natural finger.”
Nigam labored for nine hours in the operation with a co-surgeon at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, taking the patient's second toe on the right foot to replace the left hand thumb.
“You have sensation, full motion, and all the joints and tendons,” Dr. Nigam said. “It’s a natural result, you can say, and that’s what our patient decided to do.”
Now a few weeks post-op, Sentara reports the patient's toe-thumb appears to be working properly as he begins physical therapy.
“He’s already able to touch all his fingers to his thumb and he has some flexion at the joint,” Nigam said. “It’s always my goal to get people back to doing what they need to do and love to do.”
The patient is not named because he asked to remain anonymous.
