Man who cut off thumb gets big toe sewn onto his hand

17 Dec, Daily telegraph

A man who accidentally cut off his thumb has had it replaced with his big toe. ames Byrne, 29, severed his left thumb while sawing through a piece of wood. Surgeons tried to sew it back on but the blood would not start flowing again despite months of treatment including using leeches.

The father-of-one thought he would be left thumbless following the accident in December last year until doctors suggested attaching his left toe to his hand instead. Now, two months after the operation, Mr Byrne's new digit ? which he has nicknamed Toby ? is healed and working almost as well as a normal thumb. He said: "My consultant told me 'you will have a thumb even if I have to take your toe.'

"I thought he was joking but here I am with it now. People have different reactions, some think it's really funny while others are a bit disgusted by it.

"When I meet people they ask 'what did you do to your thumb, it's so big and swollen'.

They can't believe it when I tell them it's actually my toe instead. "My son thinks it's great, I showed it to all of his mates and became a bit of a celebrity in the playground for a while."

Mr Byrne's thumb was vital for his job as a paver and plant operator in Bristol. Although removing one of his toes would affect his balance in the short term, Mr Byrne decided with doctors that the toe would be more useful on his hand because his thumb had been his dominant digit.

Since the surgery at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, in September, he has limited movement in the new digit but is expected to regain full use of it after intense physiotherapy.

He will later have an operation to remove a piece of wire fusing the bones together. "I never thought it would work but the surgical teams and nurses have done such a fantastic job.

The care has been amazing," he said. "I can't bend it yet but I hope to be able to do so soon. It rotates and I can give it a good wiggle. "I am so, so pleased that I had it done. It is just such a relief that I'll be able to get back to work soon."

Mr Byrne hopes to return to his paving job in the New Year and then play rugby shortly after. Frenchay Hospital is a regional microsurgery centre and has an international reputation for such complex surgery.