Surgeons save man's hand from amputation by stitching it into his belly

Teams of surgeons have used a very wise technique to save a Brazilian man’s hand from being amputated by put putting it inside a pocket in his belly.

Carlos Mariotti, a machine production operator, suffered from a horrific accident. The accident was so severe that it ripped off all the skin from his hand. The doctors decided to bury his left hand inside his abdomen and cover it with a flap of protective skin.

The 42-year-old is now supposed to keep his hand in the pouch for six weeks.

'Mr Marriott suffered a de-gloving injury which left him with very little skin on the palm and back of his hand, exposing the bones and tendons inside. This was a very large and delicate injury and the only place we could fit the whole hand was in the abdomen. Without this procedure, there would be a high risk of infection and the tissue and tendons would rot away,” explained Orthopaedic and traumatology doctor Boris Brandao, who performed the rare operation to DailyMail.

Mariotti feels that he is indeed a lucky person.

(Photo: Youtube/ Screen grab)

“I still get very emotional when I think about the accident. But it was only when doctors told me I could lose my hand that I realised the gravity of the situation,” told Mariotti to DailyMail.

"When I woke up from the operation I didn't know whether it was still there. I couldn't believe it when they said they had tucked my hand inside me."

Heavy bandages are draped around man’s midriff to keep the hand in place firmly and he has been advised to move his hand gently around to avoid the hand becoming stiff.

Mariotti lost two fingers, his index and middle fingers in the accident. However, he is grateful that he will be able to hold a fork, steering wheel and dress up without anyone’s help.

'It's a really weird feeling trying to wiggle my fingers inside my body and creepy seeing my tummy protrude slightly as I prod around,” said Mariotti.

As per reports, he was operating a machine that makes coil when his hand was suddenly dragged into the equipment.

Mariotti was alone on the floor when he was working on the machine and was in immense pain when the machine chewed up his limb.

'It was like watching a movie play out in front of me. I saw the machine pulling my hand in and couldn't do anything about it.'

When everyone failed to hear his scream, he himself pulled out his hand from the machine. It was then that the people came in running and tried to help him.

Dr Brandao told the DailyMail that, “Medics decided to perform an immediate 'salvaging' procedure because 'if we can save a hand we always try to find a way to do somIn order to keep the wounded hand alive, we opened the abdomen, took off the skin and put it inside the cavity to protect it.”

'The patient's hand must stay in the pocket for about 42 days to ensure it develops new tissue and tendon material which is capable of receiving a replanted skin graft.Weekly check-ups will monitor the progress of the treatment and whether the hand is on the mend."

However the doctor have informed that Mariotti will suffer from some impaired function and will not get all the movement back in his hand.

Mariotti needs to make sure that he keeps his hand inside the pocket because pulling it out can be catastrophic.