Mosul resident's severed hand successfully reattached in Erbil hospital

A Mosul resident had his hand successfully reattached by doctors in Erbil, after it was blown off by an Islamic State bomb.

Haidar Adnan, 28, underwent a rare hand replantation operation at Erbil's PAR Hospital on December 20 and his limb has remained healthy.

"Doctors in Mosul's liberated areas had recommended for the victim's family to send the patient to Erbil for surgery," Dr. Abd al-Rrahman Baiz Miran, a specialist in reconstructive surgery told Rudaw News.

Miran said the surgery was a success and that blood was now flowing as normal through vital parts of the patient's hand.

Hand replantation operations are very rare and success stories are even rarer still and it's thought that Adnan's operation would not have been a success had they waited any longer.

"[Adnan] was told to keep the severed hand in a cold place," Miran said.

The reattached hand still cannot move however and a number of subsequent operations are required to return full function to the limb.

"The patient cannot use his severed hand until six months after the surgery," said Dr. Hemin Himdad.