4 August 2009
A mother who nearly severed her arm in a holiday accident has spoken of her admiration for the surgeon who saved her from being paralysed.
Tess Morris, 44, nearly cut off her left arm after walking through a patio door while on holiday in Fuerteventura last year.
Tess lost seven pints of blood in the accident and had to be air lifted by helicopter to Gran Canaria’s hospital before flying home and receiving surgery at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield.
She then underwent a 10 hour operation to repair nerves damaged in the accident which had left her arm paralysed.
In the operation the previous blood vessel grafts and nerve repairs, which were put in place in Fuerteventura, had to be pulled apart.
Mark Hobson, who is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at the Northern General Hospital, was part of the team which repaired all the major nerves in Tess’s arm.
The operation involved bridging the gaps with new grafts - the nerves used in these grafts were taken from Tess’s legs. The blood vessel damaged was also repaired by the team.
Mr Hobson said: “Tess was brought into my clinic after a horrendous injury that was potentially fatal. She had lost a lot of blood as she divided the major blood vessels to her left arm as well as all the major nerves.
“Without the nerves being repaired and replaced, the arm would have been flaccid below the shoulder.”
Tess, who lives in Heeley, Sheffield, is now slowly getting the use of her arm and hand back but said at one point she was worried that she would never be able to move her arm again.
She said: “The cut was so deep and severe that I didn’t think I would get any movement back, but the progress I’ve made with the help from the hospital staff has been great.
“I’m so grateful to Mr Hobson and the team at the Northern General Hospital for everything they have done for me. The professional and personable way they have helped me has been amazing.
“You didn’t just feel like another patient to them, they really took the time to understand how you were feeling and helped you fully understand what was happening at each stage of the treatment.”
Mr Hobson said he was very pleased to see how well Tess was progressing after the operation.
He said: “Unfortunately, she will never have complete normal function in the arm, but we have been able to get back some elbow and wrist control and she can now grip things with sensation.
“Such modest aims make a huge difference to a patient’s life, simple things such as feeding yourself in a restaurant let alone dressing yourself, are invaluable.”
Tess, who has a 13 year-old son, also stressed that the support from the hospital’s staff, who helped her come to terms with the trauma and psychological effects of the accident, was superb.
She said: “The hospital put in place such a good network of support staff to help me not only physically recover but also mentally, as I did feel quite low after the accident. Their help was really important for me and my family to come to terms with the effects of the accident. They have been wonderful.”