Such amputations pose far fewer problems for the surgeon than amputations in which parts are crushed or torn, as in lawnmower accidents, Daley said. Examining the stump and severed arm, he was struck by the almost-surgical neatness of the cut. The arm looked as though it had been cut with a knife and had no other serious injuries. From that standpoint, Bobby was an ideal reattachment candidate. Nerve and blood vessels are damaged along a much longer extent and take much longer to recover.
Avulsions are almost a contraindication for replant.
In most reattachments, surgeons first re-establish blood flow to the severed parts, but that came second in Bobby's case because the wound and stump were so well preserved, and he arrived at the hospital quickly. We did less microsurgery that we would do in reattaching a finger, because the vessels are larger, the muscles are larger and the nerves are bundled together. In that regard, replanting an arm takes far less time than replanting a hand or finger. Milwaukee seems like something from a past life. Plans for building a new dream home on their four acres of wooded land are moving ahead again, after being put on hold indefinitely last summer by Bobby's accident.