NEW DELHI, Dec. 8 -- After the injury, I could not even hold a glass of water or eat by myself. I had lost all confidence, said 34-year-old Abdalla Alkhader, a Sudanese soldier who had lost his thumb, index and middle finger to a gunshot during a conflict in his country.

Abdalla travelled to India for treatment and underwent a "toe-to-thumb" reconstruction surgery at a hospital here, regaining complete hand functions. After examining his condition, doctors recommended a free microvascular toe-to-thumb transfer, a complex procedure to restore a functional thumb using a toe, according to the hospital statement.

Doctors said the case was challenging as Abdalla had lost multiple fingers and had developed stiffness in the prolonged period since the injury. The team had to reconstruct not only the thumb, but also stimulate the movement of tendons and nerves required for proper hand function.

Dr Neeraj Godara, Consultant - Hand, Wrist and Reconstructive Microsurgeon, at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dwarka, performed the intricate surgery, removing the second toe from Abdalla's left foot and transplanting it to his right hand, the hospital statement said. "Under a microscope, surgeons reconnected minute blood vessels and nerves, so that the transplanted toe could survive, move naturally, and eventually function as a thumb," the statement added.

Commenting on the case, Dr Godara said it proved particularly challenging due to the condition of the patient's hand when he arrived for treatment. Because of the gunshot injury, he was suffering from a condition described as "metacarpal hand", with most of the functional parts missing except the last two fingers.

"We had to reconstruct not only the thumb but also rebuild the movement pathways so the hand could work as a unit again. Toe-to-thumb transfer is a precise microsurgical procedure -- even a fraction of a millimetre matters. The success of this surgery has allowed him to regain meaningful, everyday use of his hand," the doctor said.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.