Pretreatment with a modified St. Thomas' solution in patients with severe upper limb injuries: Four case reports

BACKGROUND: This study aims to describe the application of a modified St. Thomas' solution in patients with severe limb injuries. CASE SUMMARY: Four patients who sustained a high-energy trauma and underwent complete upper limb amputation were pretreated with a modified St. Thomas' solution before upper limb replantation. After the perfusion solution stopped flowing from the blood vessel, the amputated upper limb amputation was replanted. The patients were instructed to perform functional rehabilitation training after the operation. All 4 patients were followed up for 5 years. All the severed upper limbs survived. Routine re-examination after the operation showed that the function of the affected limb was restored. All the patients were satisfied with the sensory and functional recovery of the affected limb. CONCLUSION: The modified St. Thomas' solution can effectively improve the success rate of limb salvage surgery and the recovery of limb function in patients with a severe limb injury.