Name: ChadProfession: FiremanReconstructive Procedure: Hand SurgeryTwenty-six year-old Chad Hummel never gave one thought to plastic surgery until his hand had to be reconstructed.
Since 2000, ASPS Member Surgeons have performed nearly one million reconstructive hand surgeries to restore function and appearance to patients with degenerative disorders, birth defects, and severe injuries of the hand. Quincy, Ill. firefighter and farmer Chad Hummel is one of these patients.
On the afternoon of January 13, 2003 Chad was performing a routine task on his farm when he sustained a mutilating injury to his right hand after it was caught in a grain auger. Chad received emergency treatment at a local medical facility, then was airlifted to a hospital in Springfield, Ill. where he received treatment from an ASPS Member Surgeon.
From January to October 2003 Chad underwent four major reconstructive surgeries and rehabilitation. Chad lost nearly all of the skin and muscle on his palm, experienced nerve damage, and amputations of his small and ring fingers.
“The doctors were not sure if they could get the blood flowing again to my remaining fingers,” said Chad. “My ASPS Member Surgeon said he would have to wait and see how things looked in a few days. If things weren’t better, we would have to look into amputation and prosthetics.”
Chad admits that he was not very optimistic of his chances of returning to work as a firefighter or farmer due to the extent of his injury. The first month was especially difficult for Chad; his wife of 11 months, Camissa; family members and friends.
“I didn’t think my life would ever be the same again. I had been a firefighter for three years and farmed with my father all of my life. Everything I did involved my hands – my jobs depended on them,” said Chad. “I even told a fellow firefighter, who also worked as a paramedic, ‘I guess I just lost my job.’”
Although hand injuries and other farming accidents are common in rural Quincy, Chad was unaware that ASPS Member Surgeons had the expertise to repair devastating hand injuries. In fact, like many people, he was unaware that plastic surgeons did more than tummy tucks and facelifts.
That was until an ASPS Member Surgeon restored function, feeling, and appearance to Chad’s hand through reconstructive plastic surgery. The plastic surgeon repaired Chad’s fractures and dislocations, performed nerve grafting, and skin flaps to close the wounds. Through a lot of hard work and determination, one year after his injury, Chad returned to work as a firefighter and farmer.
“Without my wife’s support, my co-workers encouragement, and my ASPS Member Surgeon’s skill, I would not have regained my quality of life,” said Chad. “There is nothing I have trouble doing with my hands today.”
Chad and Camissa are expecting their first baby in October. Learn more about Hand Surgery |
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“Without my wife’s support, my co-workers encouragement, and my ASPS Member Surgeon’s skill, I would not have regained my quality of life,” |
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