Ectopic Banking and Implantation of an Amputated Hand

BACKGROUND: Ectopic banking includes techniques and indications used to bank amputated body parts for later replantation when a body part is amputated in its entirety. Immediate replantation is sometimes impossible due to hemodynamic instability, soft tissue loss, and extensive contamination of the amputated part. The first case of temporary ectopic banking of hand implantation was reported in 2015 by Xu Zhang in China which was not completely successful. The first replantation was reported almost 54 years ago, followed by a limited number of similar cases that were not successful. Xu could not restore the useful function of the replanted hand. PURPOSE: In this study, we reported a case of hand replantation by the banking technique. METHOD: We carried out a hand replantation by the banking technique using the right ankle as the recipient site. RESULT: We restored the useful function of the amputated part and evaluated the function with standard tests. CONCLUSION: Using right ankle as recipient site in ectopic banking can be a useful approach which helps and ensures the researchers and surgeons to decide if they intend to use this method.