Grandfather who chopped off his hand during freak accident has it sewn back to near perfect state !

Grandfather who chopped off his hand during freak accident has it sewn back on and regains near perfect movement Stan Smith was building a Wendy house for his two granddaughters After cutting off his hand he was rushed to hospital for surgery Has now had three operations and physiotherapy and has full use of hand He has even bought a new saw and is building a 32m kitchen extension By MADLEN DAVIES FOR MAILONLINE A grandfather who sawed off his hand while building a Wendy house for his two granddaughters has regained near perfect movement in his hand thanks to emergency surgery. Stan Smith, 60, from Hull, nearly lost his arm when his sleeve got dragged into a saw and chopped off his hand last summer. His panicked wife Gail had to hunt through the grass to find it and put it in a plastic bag for paramedics, as he desperately tried to stop blood gushing from the stump. After multiple surgeries, the DIY enthusiast's hand is back in almost perfect working condition. He has even put the Wendy house project on hold so he can build a 32m kitchen extension. Stan Smith, 60, managed to chop off his hand with a saw when he was building a Wendy house for his granddaughters. He was rushed to hospital for a seven hour operation which saved his hand The inside of Mr Smith's wrist (pictured) bears just a few scars. He says he can now do most of the things he did before with his hand, although he has lost some dexterity +5 The inside of Mr Smith's wrist (pictured) bears just a few scars. He says he can now do most of the things he did before with his hand, although he has lost some dexterity Mr Smith has had three operations in total and his hand is almost in perfect working condition. He has even bought a new saw so he can carry on doing DIY +5 Mr Smith has had three operations in total and his hand is almost in perfect working condition. He has even bought a new saw so he can carry on doing DIY Mr Smith said: 'At first, there was just all this gushing blood and I didn't know what had happened. 'Then I realised I didn't have a hand anymore. 'But you can't let little things like this stop you so I bought another saw as soon as I could. 'My wife wasn't quite so happy about that. Mr Smith had gone out into his garden to work on a wooden Wendy house as a surprise present for his two granddaughters Madelaine, seven, and Jasmine, five. Feeling a bit cold, he decided he needed a jumper and went back into the house to fetch one. But once he was back at the saw, his sleeve became trapped and the blade sliced off his hand. Keeping calm, Mr Smith, who teaches electrical engineering, managed to put pressure on his gushing wound and wander into the house to let his wife know that she needed to call 999. 'She knew exactly what I had done by the way I was holding my arm and she went into shock,' said Mr Smith. 'If I'd fainted, it could have been fatal as my wife was inside the house doing the cleaning and wouldn't have known a thing about it. 'I was calm and I stayed outside on the patio. When the ambulance arrived, I asked my wife to go and find my hand and put it in a plastic bag.' Just 20 minutes later Mr Smith arrived at Hull Royal Infirmary, with his hand in a bag. Plastic surgeon Alastair Platt explains that the situation was life threatening. 'Stan Smith was taken to the major resuscitation area of Accident and Emergency,' he told MailOnline. HOW WAS MR SMITH'S HAND REATTACHED? Plastic surgeon Alastair Platt, assisted by orthopaedic surgeon Niloy Roy and associate specialist Sameh Bibawy, of Hull Royal Infirmary, battled for seven hours to save Mr Smith's hand. From the moment he was rushed into hospital they were working against the clock, as the muscles in the hand can die within four hours. They carried out a complicated replantation procedure, which took seven hours. First, Mr Roy re-attached Mr Smith's bones with plates and screws. This is so the plastic surgeons have a stable surface to work on while they reattach the blood vessels, tendons and nerves. Mr Platt re-established the blood supply to the hand by reconnecting the blood vessels as soon as possible. This meant the hand was pink, and the tissues kept alive. Then, he reconnected 25 tendons and three major nerves using a microscope. The next day he performed another five hour operation to repair more tendons, and Mr Smith was sent home after a week. After a year of physiotherapy, Mr Smith had gained 70 per cent of movement in hand. Recently, he had a simple operation to repair some of the tendons, to give him a better grip. Mr Platt said Mr Smith's case was exceptional. He said: 'It's very variable whether you see full movement again. There are lots of factors that people cannot control, such as some people just have more scar tissue. 'Some you can control, however - the quality of the physiotherapy and the patient's determination. 'In this case we had good quality physio and a very determined patient. 'This is one of the cases I’m most proud of and I'm very satisfied I’ve got such a happy patient.' He advised anyone who has cut off a body part to wrap it up in cling film to keep it clean and to bring it to hospital immediately. 'It was life threatening because of the loss of blood. So doctors were working to keep his blood pressure stable and make sure he was getting fluids. 'You only have a short period - four hours - before the muscle in the hands start to die so we needed to operate soon.' They rushed Mr Smith into an emergency operation, called a 'replantation' procedure. Assisted by orthopaedic surgeon Niloy Roy and associate specialist Sameh Bibawy, Mr Platt battled for seven hours to reattach his hand. First, Mr Roy re-attached Mr Smith's bones with plates and screws. 'This is so we have a stable surface to work on to reattach the other bits,' Mr Platt said. MR Platt then worked to re-connect the blood vessels to restore the blood supply, so the muscles in the hand didn't die. Once this was done he reattached the tendons and the nerves. Mr Platt said: 'There were 25 tendons to repair and three major nerves. That's why it took so long. And a lot of it was was done down the microscope.' After another five-hour operation the next day, Mr Smith spent just five days in hospital before returning home, desperate to get back to his garden to carry on work. Incredibly, physiotherapy meant that within a week of being home he could wiggle the tips of his fingers and was back driving after three months. And less than a year later Mr Smith was back working his garden, this time on a kitchen extension for his home. He said: 'This hasn't put me off at all - you can't sit back and let accidents like this worry you - you've got to get on with life. 'I kept the tendons stretching and the muscles tensing and the movement has come back - it's 70 per cent of what it was originally and it came back naturally. 'People have said that I'm a medical miracle - my surgeon Mr Platt said the operation was remarkable and he was very proud of his work - and I do realise how very lucky I am. 'At the time I just understood what I'd done and what I had to do. 'There were times since when I thought I would never get the use of my hand again but, fortunately, because the treatment I've had, I can do most of the things I did before. 'The hospital and rehab teams have been absolutely fantastic. 'I've just had another operation to give me even more flexibility. 'Some more intricate things are harder to do because I don't have the same dexterity but I'm fine with lifting and carrying.' After the accident Mr Smith (left) went into the house to ask his wife Gail (right) to call an ambulance. She also had to find his hand and put it in a plastic bag before paramedics came to take Mr Smith to hospital +5 After the accident Mr Smith (left) went into the house to ask his wife Gail (right) to call an ambulance. She also had to find his hand and put it in a plastic bag before paramedics came to take Mr Smith to hospital Mr Smith has put the 7ft Wendy house he was building (pictured) on hold, but has started a new project: building a 32ft extension for his home +5 Mr Smith has put the 7ft Wendy house he was building (pictured) on hold, but has started a new project: building a 32ft extension for his home Amazingly, the inside of Mr Smith's wrist bears just a few scars. There are hardly any signs of the accident, which occurred in May 2013, on the back of his hand. Now, he has even bought a new saw. He said: 'My hand was still on the saw before Gail went to fetch it so we threw that one away. 'I bought another as soon as I could - I can't do my DIY without it. 'Gail wasn't too pleased. The whole experience has probably been more traumatic for her than me. 'But it's like falling off a horse, you need to get straight back on again..' 'Obviously my granddaughters were worried when they found out even though they were very young. 'The Wendy house is still waiting to be finished because I've been busy with a much bigger project - the extension - but I'll be onto it as soon as the weather picks up a bit. 'I'll just make sure I roll my sleeves up before I start.