Police Officer’s Severed Hand: Eight-Hour Surgery to Reattach Wrist a Success

KUALA LUMPUR: The severed right hand of a police officer, who was attacked with a machete by a foreign national last night, has been successfully reattached following emergency surgery at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL).

A source said the procedure to reattach the victim’s hand was completed at 8.40am today.

The 26-year-old victim, a Lance Corporal attached to the Mobile Patrol Vehicle Unit of the Gombak District Police Headquarters (IPD), was injured after being attacked by a foreign man at an apartment in Desa Amanpuri, Kepong.

The suspect, however, was shot dead by police while officers were attempting to arrest him near a playground at 8pm last night.

According to the source, specialist doctors performed the surgery on the victim in HKL’s main operating theatre, with the procedure taking between eight and 10 hours.

However, it remains uncertain whether the victim’s hand will fully recover and regain its previous functionality.

The victim remains in HKL’s surgical ward for further monitoring.

He was initially rushed by ambulance to Selayang Hospital in Gombak, Selangor, for emergency treatment before being transferred to HKL for immediate specialist surgery.

Selangor Police Chief Datuk Shazeli Kahar said the victim also sustained several injuries to his head and body.

Meanwhile, Public Health Malaysia, in a statement on its Facebook page, said the successful reattachment of the hand offered significant hope to the victim and his family, although an official statement had yet to be received.

The organisation explained that reattaching a severed hand is far from a routine surgical procedure.

“In medical terms, this procedure is known as replantation surgery.

“Surgeons do not merely reconnect the bones and stitch the skin. They must repair extremely delicate blood vessels, nerves, tendons and other structures using microsurgical techniques.

“Blood supply must be restored as quickly as possible because tissues deprived of oxygen for too long are at risk of permanent damage,” the statement said.

It added that even if the hand has been successfully reattached, the patient will still require close monitoring and a lengthy rehabilitation process.

“A successful operation does not necessarily mean that full hand function will be restored.

“Behind all this, there is something we should truly appreciate. While most of us are resting with our families, police officers are risking their own safety to protect the community.

“There are emergency personnel working tirelessly to save lives.

“And there are teams of doctors, nurses and operating theatre staff who work for hours to give a patient a second chance.

“This is the strength of our public healthcare system,” the statement said.

Harian Metro