6-Year-Old Undergoes Toe to Hand Transfer

From the Baltimore Examiner:

Hector Salas endured nine hours of surgery Tuesday and emerged sporting a new ring finger.

The 6-year-old underwent a procedure that removed a toe from his foot and added a finger to one of his hands, which only had a thumb and “nubbins.”

Complications usually surface within the first five days following surgery, and the first 24 hours hold the most danger, said Dr. James Higgins, a surgeon who performed the operation at Union Memorial Hospital’s Curtis National Hand Center.