Baltimore surgeon gives boy new hand using his foot bones

BALTIMORE -- Lal Ding was born with radial club hand, a genetic condition that left him without a thumb, CBS Baltimore reports. He also has a shortened forearm, which causes his right hand to curve sharply toward his wrist.

Dr. Ryan Katz of The Curtis National Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital said that when he first met Ding, “he had already had a surgery to reposition his index finger to the thumb position, and the parents wanted to know if there was anything we could do to straighten the hand and allow him to continue to grow.”

Katz and a team of doctors discovered an innovative procedure that takes a bone, joint and growth plate from Ding’s foot to create a functioning hand and arm.

“I have always been drawn to complex reconstructive cases,” Katz said. “For me, it brings me satisfaction to see difficult problems solved. I love seeing patients who think there is no hope, or no alternative, be offered a potential solution to a complex problem.”

And that’s exactly what this surgery represented for 8-year-old Ding and his family.

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