January 20, 2020, the emergency department of the Saint-Martin hospital in Pessac (Gironde) - Mickaà «l Bosredon / 20Minutes

  • The Saint-Martin de Pessac private hospital has an emergency department specializing in the treatment of hand trauma, a real regional reference.
  • His teams succeeded a few days ago in real surgical prowess with the transplant of a severed hand.
  • The daily life of these emergencies, which treats 12,000 patients per year, ranges from small sprains or fractures to serious trauma.

Here, the patients are particularly well taken care of. In the emergency department of the Saint-Martin de Pessac private hospital, in the suburbs of Bordeaux (Gironde), interventions are generally delicate, and require extreme precision.

The proof with this feat achieved Tuesday, January 7. A 70-year-old man from the Dordogne who cut his hand with a circular saw was brought to the emergency room in Saint-Martin. After six hours of surgery, Dr. Sommier's teams were able to re-implant his hand.

A reimplantation requires suturing arteries, nerves and tendons ...

20 Minutes went to Saint-Martin hospital on Monday . Valérie Siounath, head of service, talks about this very special operation. "A patient who completely amputates one hand does not happen very often, and successful limb reimplantation is quite rare," she insists. There are less than two per year in France.

In the emergency department of Saint-Martin de Pessac hospital - Mickaël Bosredon / 20 Minutes

“In this intervention, the amputated limb had been severed clean, which is not always the case, and he was in good condition, explains the manager. This helped with the relocation. It took suturing the arteries, nerves, tendons and broaching the bone. “Operations that are carried out under the microscope, because in the hand we find very small arteries and very small nerves. "Another parameter that contributed to the success of the transplant: the patient arrived in the emergency room" in good conditions, thanks to the excellent care of the Samu from the Dordogne: he was well calmed, and he did not have much bled. "

"A whole course of patient care"

The SOS Mains department at Saint-Martin hospital was created 19 years ago. He settled in this establishment, because of its accessibility and its proximity to the ring road of Bordeaux. If the hospital is not the only one in the region to have specialized in the management of hand trauma - the CHU of Bordeaux is too - it is the largest today with 12,000 patients treated per year. They come from the Gironde, but also from all the neighboring departments.

On January 20, 2020, the emergency department of the Saint-Martin private hospital in Pessac (Gironde) - Mickaël Bosredon / 20 Minutes

In addition to its specialized team of eight surgeons, four anesthesiologists and 17 nurses, the establishment also draws its strength from the presence, just opposite, of the Aquitaine Institute of the Hand, where postoperative care and physiotherapy are carried out. “This allows us to offer a whole range of patient care. "

Beware of the oyster knife

The daily emergency of the hand is not just the big trauma caused by circular saws or other mowers. "It can be a sprain of the finger or wrist, a fracture, or wounds caused by DIY, gardening or cooking," lists Valérie Siounath. It’s quite seasonal: in spring it’s often accidents with mowers, during strong gusts it’s chainsaws, and in winter injuries with the oyster knife, with a peak during the holidays: at Christmas, we treated six patients in the evening. "

And beware, the oyster knife is devious. "It can bring microbes to the palm of your hand, with the risk of infection, but people don't always come to the emergency room right away, sometimes they wait three or four days, when the wound begins to infect." "

"What you have to understand with your hand, continues Valérie Siounath, is that a wound, even if it seems harmless, can quickly lead to something important, because there is not much thickness and you can easily touch a tendon or nerve. So a hand sore should be seen by a specialist. "

Never put an amputated limb directly on the ice

You also have to have the right attitude. "The first reflex when there is bleeding is to make a bandage, and if there is an amputated member it must be placed in compresses or a cloth, and then in ice, but never put it directly on the ice, otherwise it burns it and it damages it. Then you have to contact us, even if it's just for medical advice. "

In the case of a severed member, the transplant does not always take. “Depending on the injuries, but also the profession of the patient, we favor this or that surgical strategy. If the person has a manual profession and is self-employed, we always keep in mind to make him resume his activity as quickly as possible. "

And sometimes, "the strategy will be not to put back an amputated finger, because the convalescence would be too long for a poor result ..."

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  • Emergencies
  • Hospital
  • Health
  • Aquitaine
  • Bordeaux