Reattaching Louis Delhommer’s left hand was no simple task for Dr. Randy Bindra, director of the UAMS Center for Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery and professor of orthopaedic surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine.

The microvascular surgery requires precise technique and the use of minute instruments specially designed for the delicate procedure.

When the 58-year-old Pine Bluff resident severed his hand in a work-related accident, Bindra was able to reattach it, with the ultimate goal of giving Delhommer about 50 percent of the function he is used to.  While the hand surgery is complicated and delicate, reattaching a finger or fingertip presents additional challenges.  “We see far more accidents involving fingers than whole hands. Most occur after people go home at night and work with power tools on home improvement projects,” Bindra said.

On occasion, Bindra advises against reattaching a severed finger. “Because of the loss of motion and sensibility that can occur in a reattached finger, it is sometimes better to lose the finger and focus on recovery of the rest of the hand.”