ATHENS – A group of Greek surgeons at the KAT hospital here said they were able to reattach the arm of a 20-year-old woman which had been severed at the elbow in a road accident in Iraklio on the island of Crete.

The surgery was done on Oct. 25, shortly after the woman had been flown to Athens from Crete, Kathimerini reported.
The hospital said that the operation was successful because of teamwork from the Department of Hand and Microsurgery, headed by Sarandis Spryidonos, and the Department of Vascular Surgery, coordinated by Director Chrysostomos Maltezos.

“The KAT hospital, which is open for emergencies every day, has extensive experience in dealing with complex and difficult traumatic events,” said hospital Director Nikolaos Kontodimopoulos.

“At the same time, successes like this highlight and demonstrate the great potential of the public health system,” he added.

Greece’s hospitals and the health sector have seen repeated cuts under successive governments as part of austerity measures attached to three international bailouts of 326 billion euros ($379.83 billion) that have been so severe that in some public hospitals patients have to hire private nurses and even bring their own toilet paper and other necessities.
KAT is one of the biggest hospitals in Attica with specialties in orthopedics and trauma and the primary choice for caring for accident patients and those with fractures.