Faith Regional Health Services | living WELL

Make sure you are safe. An amputation can be shocking, but you need to ensure

you have no other injuries.

Stop the bleeding. If a finger is amputated, wrap your hand in gauze. If the

amputation is farther up the hand or arm, a tourniquet may be necessary.

Find the part! Many times people come to the emergency room without the

amputated part, thinking there is no hope of reattachment.

Don’t try to clean it. The nerves and vessels are very fragile and can be injured

by cleaning.

Wrap the amputated part inmoistened gauze. If gauze is not available, use a paper

towel or a similar product. Thenput thepart inabaggieandplace thebaggieon topof

ice. It is very important that the part does not freeze! Donot submerge the part in ice

or place it in a cooler that can achieve subzero temperatures.

Go to the emergency room—or call 911.

BENJAMIN WITKOWSKI

and his friends were in Grand Island

this summer riding watercrafts when

the unthinkable happened. On the

way back out to their favorite wake-

boarding spot on the lake, Witkowski

wrapped the rope around his arm

to prevent it from getting tied up in

the engine. However, one sharp turn

caused Witkowski to be thrown from

the watercraft. His arm was torn off

by the rope.

Thanks to some quick thinking

by his friends to retrieve the severed

part from the water and the excel-

lent care of the first responders,

Tristan Hartzell, MD, a reconstruc-

tive surgeon who specializes in upper

extremity surgery at Faith Regional

Health Services, was able to reat-

tach the arm in a 12-hour surgery in

Norfolk. Witkowski has another year

of therapy ahead of him but contin-

ues to regain function of his hand.

10 FAITH REGIONAL

HEALTH SERVICES

Tristan

Hartzell, MD

Faith Regional

Physician Services

Hand, Wrist and

Elbow Surgery

301 N. 27th St.,

Suite 2, Norfolk

402-844-8291

Benjamin Witkowski

works with

Occupational Therapist

Jami Doele, OTR/L,

CHT, at Faith Regional

Physician Services

Hand, Wrist and Elbow

Surgery. Witkowski

will regularly attend

therapy over the next

year to continue to

regain function of his

hand.

FAST-ACTING FR IENDS—AND EXPERT

CARE—SAVE LOCAL MAN’S HAND

A scary day at the lake

Fromdisaster

to triumph

Do the right thing

In northeast Nebraska, largely known for its agriculture industry, accidents that

can result in a mangled or detached limb can happen in a split second. If you are

ever in a situation where you or someone else experiences this type of injury, keep

in mind these tips from Dr. Hartzell.

Not everyone is a good candidate for replantation. The mechanism of the injury,

the level of amputation, the number of fingers involved, and the patient’s age and

medical and smoking history all weigh in the decision to attempt replantation. For

those individuals who are not candidates, there are often things that can be done

to maintain as much of the injured extremity as possible.