Innovative treatment restores normal body function of badly injured child

An innovative method combining early traumatic orthopedics and plastic and reconstructive surgery saved a 7-year-old boy's limb and restored proper body function after a serious injury, officials from Shanghai 6th People's Hospital said on Thursday.

In April, the child was rushed to the hospital following a traffic accident in which his left foot was run over and he was seriously injured.

"The boy's foot was run over by the vehicle, resulting in multiple fractures on the foot, serious injury to the ankle, large-scale skin loss, and poor blood supply on the toes," said Dr Zhou Zhengbing.

"We carried out an emergency surgery to save the limb by repairing the nerves, and blood vessels, and repositioning the bones to ensure proper bone structure and blood circulation."

Ti Gong

To reduce the boy's physical and psychological stress and ensure he can return to normal life as soon as possible, surgeons performed a second surgery three days later to plant skin and repair and reconstruct the ankle and toes.

"For patients like the boy, repairing in the early stages of trauma can reduce the risk of amputation and infection, preventing further tissue death," Zhou said. "It is the sub-emergency surgery theory. Early repair is also beneficial to the boy's body function recovery."

This procedure takes six hours. After the suture was removed two weeks later, all of the grafted skin survived and the youngster regained a proper foot view. He began rehabilitation six weeks later and can now walk steadily eight weeks following surgery.

Doctors stated the youngster can walk, jump and run freely after a check on Wednesday.

Zhou stated that the boy's treatment was different from the traditional approach. The combination of traumatic orthopedics and plastic surgery can enhance the outcomes of emergency treatment, shorten surgery times and treatment length, and prevent complications such as infection.

"We combined multiple surgical processes that were launched in stages into one surgery to reduce patient injury and accelerate recovery." It may improve the chances of maintaining limb and body function," Zhou stated.