Stock image. Photograph by Kristopher Radder
Surgeons managed to keep a man’s calf tissue alive by attaching it to his arm, before using it to rebuild his body after amputation in the first surgery of its kind in the UK.
Ian McGregor, 59, had developed a large cancerous tumour at the top of his left leg which needed to be removed. Surgeons first took the skins and muscle tissue off the bone of his leg below the knee and attached it to his arm to maintain blood flow and keep it alive as reported by the BBC.
During the 18 hour-long surgery at Newcastle Freeman’s Hospital, doctors then amputated his leg at the groin to remove the tumour, and were able to use the muscle and other tissue from his calf they had attached to his arm to repair the amputation site.
Having successfully completed the surgery, the doctors now plan to publish their work as they believe it may offer a new approach to major surgeries.
