2019 Volume 32 Issue 2 Pages 38-40
Susumu Tamai, M.D. finished his Postgraduate Course in Orthopedic Surgery at Nara Medical University in 1964 and earned a Ph.D. with his thesis on “Experimental Surgery on Replantation of Amputated Limbs in Dogs”. During his 4 year course of study, he also mastered the technique of microvascular surgery for miniature blood vessels, which was initially developed by Jacobson and Suarez in 1960.
On July 27th, 1965, a 28-year-old male amputated his left thumb at the MP joint level by a steel cutter. He was transferred to Nara Medical University Hospital 30 minutes after the injury. At the request of patient, the replantation team decided to attempt replantation of the thumb. Under brachial plexus block anesthesia and after applying a tourniquet on the arm, the MP joint was fused by two wires and the extensor tendon was repaired. The flexor tendon was not repaired as it was not routine procedure at that time. Two volar digital arteries were repaired using 8-0 monofilament nylon sutures and two dorsal veins were repaired with 7-0 braided silk under an operating microscope. Following recirculation, the thumb became pink and the skin was closed. The postoperative course was uneventful without complications.
