From: "Olga Bourlin" <fauxever@sprynet.com>
> From: Tiberius Gracchus
> > You have GOTTA see this!
> >
> > http://english.pravda.ru/fun/2001/08/10/12267.html
>
> In a similar vein (no pun intended, of course), here's another case
> utilizing similar medical principles:
>
>
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?s
> lug=hand14m&date=20010814&query=burns
Olga again: I had trouble accessing the link above - so just in case,
here's the text:
Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company
Local News : Tuesday, August 14, 2001
A badly burned hand survives: Rare surgery puts firefighter on way to
recovery
By Lisa Heyamoto
Seattle Times staff reporter
Forest firefighter Jason Emhoff's hand will be saved, and he has his abdomen
to thank for it.
Emhoff, of Yakima, suffered severe burns over 30 percent of his body,
including both hands, while fighting the Thirty Mile Fire in Okanogan County
last month.
The same fire killed four other firefighters - Tom Craven, 30, of
Ellensburg, and Devin Weaver, 21; Jessica Johnson, 19; and Karen
FitzPatrick, 18, all of Yakima.
Emhoff's left hand was so badly burned that physicians opted to try an
unusual and infrequently used procedure that called for placing the hand
into a flap in his abdomen to generate new tissue on his knuckles.
Doctors at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle did so three weeks ago,
banking on the possibility that enough new tissue would form so skin could
be grafted to the hand.
Doctors took the hand from his abdomen yesterday and grafted donated skin to
it, paving the way for a permanent grafting next Monday.
"The surgery went fine - two thumbs up," said Dr. David Heimbach, director
of the hospital's burn unit. "Jason has a great attitude and a marvelous
support group with his family. He's done extremely well."
Just three weeks ago, Emhoff, 21, could barely move his hands because of the
burns. Yesterday, he was able to use his right hand, which also was badly
burned, to sign his consent form for the surgery.
The procedure takes three hours and is performed about once a year at the
Harborview burn unit.
Fat and blood cells from inside his abdomen affixed themselves to the
exposed tendons still clinging to Emhoff's hand. Had doctors attempted a
skin graft without enough tissue, they could have risked failure of the
grafts to take and loss of the tendons.
Doctors used donated skin for the temporary graft to save Emhoff's skin for
the permanent grafting. Emhoff has undergone some grafting on a leg and an
arm as well as on his right hand. Additional grafting will be necessary for
his ear and neck.
The prospect of further time in the hospital isn't stopping Emhoff from
planning what he'll do when he gets out. First on the list? Golf, and lots
of it. And he'll be able to use both hands on that driver, doctors said.
He's already feeding and shaving himself one-handed and even wrote a letter
to his brother, who lives in Brazil. He's expected to have full use of both
hands when the grafting is complete.
His father, Steve Emhoff, isn't surprised at his resilience. Years of
scouting trips together taught him that his son isn't one to give up.
"His attitude has been so upbeat for all of this," the father said. "We call
him the poster boy for the burn center."
Lisa Heyamoto can be reached at 206-464-2779 or at
lheyamoto@seattletimes.com.
Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company
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