A worker operating a machine in a family workshop in China accidentally cut off his hand -- which doctors were able to save by grafting it onto his lower calf.        

The worker, Xie Wei, said he was initially unsure if his right hand could be saved, but he thought it was worth a try. The hand went without a blood supply supply, for many hours while Xie searched for a hospital that could perform such a surgery. Xie said that he went to local hospitals near the factory first, but he said they told him they "did not have the skills      to help." Eventually he found a hospital about two hours away where doctors believed they could do it.             

Xie kept his hand in a plastic bag at first, then stored it in a cooler of ice. In total, it took about seven hours to fet to a doctor who could help. 

The doctor, Dr Tang Juyu, is a specialist in difficult tissue and wound repair cases. Before Xie went into the operation, Tang told him he was optimistic and predicted he would regain the use of his hand, according to Xie. 

Tang decided the best way to save the hand was to  attach it to Xie's calf where there was a good blood The hand would need to stay there until Xie's arm could fully heal. Tang believes there have  been about 20 such cases in all of China and all of them have been successful. 

There is no data, as only  case studies have been performed. Tang said in a similar operation in 2004, he grafted a hand onto a patient's belly. That operation he said he was surprised to find his hand on his calf. He says his first reaction at the time was to think it was "unbelievable and "weired".