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Article: Surgery gives man a new pair of thumbs, Doctors use patient's second toe, index finger in simultaneous operation
- Article from:
- Charleston Daily Mail
- Article date:
- December 30, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2005 Charleston Daily Mail. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BALTIMORE - His scarred right hand trembling, Francisco del Alamo-
Benavente gripped a plastic clothespin between his thumb - which used
to be his index finger - and his ring finger. Squeezing with all his
might, he pried the clothespin about a quarter-inch apart and
fastened it to a metal rod.
"This is new today," says Dale Eckhaus, his occupational
therapist, with admiration in her voice.
Without being prompted, he did the same with the left hand, using
a thumb that until recently was his toe. He gripped another
clothespin with twice as much resistance.
Six weeks after surgeons at the Curtis National Hand Center at
Union Memorial Hospital fashioned new thumbs for him, ...