Surgeons restore man’s severed hand

● The reattachment of his severed hand, which had been chopped off in what is believed to be a muti-related crime, was like something out of a Hollywood movie for a KwaZulu-Natal man.

The man, identified by the pseudonym Bongani, is believed to be the first survivor of a muti crime involving a hand amputation, and he has shared his ordeal with occupational therapy experts in a study.

Authored by hand therapist Wendy Young, University of KwaZulu-Natal occupational therapy associate professor Pragashnie Govender and senior lecturer Deshini Naidoo, the study was published in the Journal of Hand Therapy last week.

Bongani was referred to Young by his surgeon for post-operative therapy.

He received his rehabilitation at a private clinic and his treatment was paid for by the Compensation Fund.

“The purpose of the study was to obtain insight into the lived experience of the trauma, challenges and success during the expected long journey of rehabilitation following a hand replantation. Bongani agreed without hesitation,” the researchers told the Sunday Times.

In a series of interviews for the study, Bongani related how his hand was chopped off at his workplace about three years ago.

He was with a co-worker when an intruder confronted them and ordered them to lie down before shackling them with cable ties. After taking their valuables the attacker repeatedly ordered Bongani to put his hands on the table.

“I thought maybe this man is one of those guys who cuts people’s parts, maybe for the purpose of selling it. I did as the man demanded me to do.

“The man chopped my hand. Fortunately my hand didn’t come off, it was hanging with a little piece of flesh to my arm.”

He said his attacker was in “shock mode” after chopping off his hand and disappeared.

“I think God was playing a role … two to three hours laying down in a pool of blood but I managed to survive that,” Bongani told the researchers.

“They … put my hand back. It’s an unbelievable thing. Even other people, if I explain about my hand, they don’t believe it. You only see it in the movies but it’s happening in my life.”

Bongani returned to his job six months after the attack.

The study states that “based on a perusal of available literature, the authors are unaware of any survivors of a muti crime involving hand amputation, nor reattachment of severed parts”.

Young said that given SA’s extreme poverty and inequality, “it is no surprise that surgical replantation of a severed hand is perceived as surreal by Bongani”.

She added: “Bongani has experienced something bizarre, something only seen in movies; his hand was chopped off and is now on again. The poverty and violence are contrasted with the expensive microsurgical and therapeutic treatment that enabled Bongani to keep his hand.”

Elani Muller, head of the South African Society of Hand Therapists, said: “Anecdotally we estimate around six attempts of hand replantation a year across two of the largest public units in SA but, unfortunately, probably only a 50% success rate.

“For replantation to be an option the patient will need to be able to access specialist orthopaedic or plastic surgery within a few hours after injury as the time to replantation determines whether surgery is an option. Access to this kind of specialist care is not possible for most South Africans.”