J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 81(9): 1123-1127, 1980

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Report on the annual meeting

MICROSURGICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BLOOD VESSELS AND NERVES IN REPLANTING AMPUTATED LIMBS AND DIGITS

Replantation of amputated limb or digit became a clinical reality in the past decades, with the epochmaking developements of microsurgical anastomosis of blood vessels and nerves. The successful anastomoses of blood vessels are the efficient procedure in salvaging amputated limb or digit, while the accurate repair of nerves are atmost important for the functional recovery of the replants, as well as repairs of bone and muscles/tendons.
Between May 1959 and December 1979, 266 amputated limbs and digits in 193 patients were replanted and 238 were successful replantations with 89.5% success rates. Among them 229 in 157 patients were digit replantations and 205 were salvaged. The most common cause of failures was arterial or venous thrombosis, especially in digital replantations. Although the final outcome may vary depend on the wound's condition, the level of amputation, the patient's age and the surgeon's skill in replantation techniques, satisfactory functions were gained in approximately 70% of our patients. There was no patient who wanted to have reamputation of the replanted part due to functional disability or causalgic pain.

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