The first five minutes
For the injured hand:
- Press firmly on the wound with a clean cloth to stop bleeding.
- Raise the hand above the heart.
- Don't apply a tight tourniquet on the finger.
For the amputated part:
- Gently rinse off dirt with clean water. Don't scrub.
- Wrap it in gauze or a clean cloth moistened with saline or clean water. Damp, not soaking.
- Put it in a sealed plastic bag.
- Place that bag in a container of water with ice.
- Never put the part directly on ice or in plain water.
The time window
| Part | Cooled | Not cooled |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Up to about 24 hours | About 12 hours |
| Hand, forearm (contains muscle) | About 12 hours | About 6 hours |
These are upper limits from surgical guidelines. The sooner, the better. Call ahead so the theatre can be prepared: 090656 39577 for Jharkhand Charitable Hospital, Ranchi.
Which injuries can be replanted?
Good candidates: clean cuts, thumbs, several fingers, any amputation in a child, hand and wrist level injuries.
Harder or not possible: badly crushed or avulsed (torn-out) parts, heavily contaminated parts, a single finger cut at certain levels in an adult, and patients with serious other injuries or illness.
Even when replantation isn't possible, a plastic surgeon can preserve length, cover the stump well and plan reconstruction, sometimes using a toe to replace a thumb.
What replantation involves
Under a microscope, the bone is fixed and tendons, arteries, veins and nerves are repaired. Surgery takes several hours per finger. Afterwards the finger is monitored closely for several days, followed by months of hand therapy.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-11
This page is general information, not a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Results and recovery differ between patients. Prices are starting prices and are confirmed after examination.