Ten-Year (2010-2019) Activity Report of the Replantation Service for Hand and Finger Amputations in Poland

Replantation of amputated hands is now considered a routine procedure in countries representing high standards of medical care. However, organization of care for patients with hand amputations is not uniform and varies from country to country, even in the European Union. This article presents organization of the Replantation Service for hand amputations in Poland, and ten-year activity report of the Service. Data to this report were obtained by mailing questionnaires to seven participating departments.A total of 974 patients, 871 men (89 %) and 103 women (11 %) at a mean age of 40 years with total or subtotal amputations or other severe upper limb-threatening injuries were admitted to the seven units participating in the Service. The most common injury was multidigital amputation - 353 (36 %), followed by the thumb - 282 (29 %), the metacarpal and wrist - 231 (24 %) and the forearm and arm - 108 (11 %) amputations. The most common operation was replantation of totally amputated hands/fingers - 368 cases (38 %), followed by revascularization of subtotal amputated hands/fingers - 344 (35 %). Primary reconstruction of a complex injury to the hand was performed in 135 patients (14 %). The rate of survival of the replanted/revascularized hands/fingers was a mean of 80 %. The report is supported by literature review about replantation services in other countries.