Since time immemorial man has attempted to reattach any amputated part, but it became a possibility with the advent of microsurgery.  An amputated thumb was first reattached in Japan by Komatsu and Tamai  in 1964.  Reattaching fingers involve joining all the structures which constitute the finger i.e. bone fixation, tendon repairs, nerve repairs and soft tissue approximation. Joining of blood vessels brings back life to the finger.  That is the most challenging part, since the diameter of the blood vessels are lesser than one millimeter at the level of fingers as in the figure.  6 to 8 sutures are applied to each vessel.  High magnification with good illumination offered by state of the art microscopes are used.  The needle used has a diameter of   50 to 75 microns (one twentieth of a millimeter) and the sutures are even thinner.

Since 1991 replantations are regularly performed at Ganga Hospital, and it is now one of the premier institutions in this country.  Facilities for reattaching amputated fingers and hands are available round the clock throughout the year. Team work is essential since it takes about 6 to 8 hours to perform a replant, and often one needs to do it at the end of a very busy operating schedule. In the year 2000, we crossed the landmark of 200 replants since inception.