RIJEKA DOCTOR PERFORMS AUTOTRANSPLANT OF TOE TO HAND

RIJEKA, June 21 (Hina) - Rijeka Hospital surgeon Ivan Kirin performed a very rare operation, transplanting a patient's toe onto his hand, hospital officials told reporters on Friday. #L# The surgery was performed on March 30 and lasted for 13 hours. This type of operation is performed very rarely, not only in Croatia, but in the world, Dr. Kirin said. Of seven possible ways to reconstruct the hand, this one is the most difficult and delicate, but also yields the best results, he said. A wood saw hacked off several fingers on the patient's right hand, of which three were reattached. The operation was carried out with the aid of a microscope because of the delicate nature of tying tendons with nerves. (hina) lml