Stupidity or Creativity? Man replaces lost thumb with big toe

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An Australian man whose thumb was severed
in a cattle herding accident has had a big toe
surgically removed and transplanted onto his
hand to replace the lost digit .
Zac Mitchell was working on a remote cattle
station in Western Australia state in April
when his hand was kicked by a bull and thrust
against a fence , slicing off his right thumb .
“ My thumb was still hanging on the rail there
when I got up off the ground , ” he told the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation .
“ My boss looked down and saw the blood and
asked me what was bleeding . I had a look at
my hand and figured out pretty quick (that the
thumb had been severed) . ”
With the nearest hospital five hours away, the
20 - year - old cattle handler put the thumb on
ice until he could receive treatment , but
attempts to reattach it were unsuccessful .
Mitchell was moved to Sydney Hospital’ s
specialist hand unit , where doctors decided
that given the severity of his injury , a toe
relocation was the best course of action .
“ To recreate a thumb you can just use skin
and bone , but that doesn ’ t work so well , so
really the toe is just the best option by far —
when it works well, ” plastic surgeon Sean
Nicklin , who performed the operation , told
AFP Friday.
Nicklin said he carries out procedures using
skin grafts from the toe to reconstruct fingers
or thumbs every couple of years , but to
remove and transplant the entire toe is “ pretty
unusual” .
The benefits of recreating a new thumb
outweigh the downside of losing the toe, he
said .
Mitchell will receive ongoing hand therapy
and is expected to have feeling in his new
thumb after about a year , Nicklin said , adding
the procedure had a success rate of over 95
percent.
As far as the foot goes , occasional “ fine
balance” activities like surfing might be
difficult, but most people without a big toe
function fine in everyday tasks like walking
and even competitive sports , the surgeon said .
“ Generally if they get feeling back they get a
very good thumb for this type of injury , ” he
added .