Quick-thinking saves man's hand
2008-07-30 23:30
Virginia Keppler
Pretoria - With his hand in a plastic Checkers bag filled with ice, a man was rushed to Acacia Hospital. Three hours later, a medical team was able to re-attach the hand.
Benny Matsemela, 28, of Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, dreams at night that his hand is missing and wakes with a fright.
"When I see my hand, I'm very happy," he told Beeld on Wednesday.
He was measuring a wooden plank at his work last Monday when he accidently cut off his hand with an electric saw.
He works at Summit in Rosslyn, Pretoria, a company that manufactures wooden spools with which one can wind up rope.
"The saw went on suddenly and grabbed my hand. I grabbed my arm and pulled back my hand and when I saw the hand had been cut off, I ran to my manager. I cried a lot," said Matsemela on Wednesday.
No time to wait for ambulance
He lost consciousness as he was running and his co-workers went to help him.
Summit's human resources manager, Mpho Mosana, said one of the workers picked up Matsemela's hand, put it in a bag with ice and tied it up.
Mosana said: "When I heard him crying and screaming, I decided there wasn't time to wait for an ambulance. We put him and the hand in the car and I rushed to the hospital."
"Benny kept asking if they were going to re-attach his hand and I assured him they would. I was very scared, but I had to put on a brave face, " said Mosana.
When they stopped at the hospital, they were helped quickly.
An orthopaedic surgeon, Tende Chagwiza, was immediately called to the hospital.
Chagwiza said: "On the way to hospital, I phoned my friend André Peach, an orthopaedic surgeon who had done the same operation five years ago, to ask his advice. I asked him if he had any tricks and he gave me a few that I used.
First time he'd done the op
Chagwiza said: "I also phoned Solly Selahle, a plastic surgeon at the Medunsa Campus of Limpopo University, to assist me.
The operation was difficult, but successful.
"It was my first operation of this kind and I'm very glad that it went so well," said Chagwiza, who is originally from Zimbabwe.
Chagwiza specialised in orthopaedics at the University of Pretoria.
Matsemela showed on Wednesday that he already was able to move his fingers.
Mosana said: "I'm glad everything is working out well for him because he is young and he needs his hand."
Chagwiza said Matsemela would return to theatre on Thursday so that a wound on his wrist could be closed up.
Matsemela is receiving physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
- Beeld