Groundbreaking surgery at CURE Zimbabwe
Hope and healing at CURE
Seven-year-old Blessings has just become the first child in Zimbabwe to receive a toe-to-finger transfer. Blessings was born with just a thumb on her left hand. Without fingers to push against the thumb for grip, she couldn’t use this hand for anything – dressing herself, catching balls in the playground - things most children do without thinking.
The complex 13-hour operation involved removing Blessings’ second toe from her left foot and transplanting it to her left hand. The team carefully dissected the toe with its accompanying bones, tendons, arteries, veins, and nerves, preserving each delicate structure for reconnection in the hand. They then joined the blood vessels under a microscope using sutures finer than a human hair.
A second day-long surgery had to take place the following day to restore blood flow to the new finger. “Her hand will never look normal,” Mr. Andrew Hodges, Blessings’ surgeon, said, “but the surgery will transform an unusable hand into one that can pick up anything.”
A brighter future
“Who would have thought this was possible?” said Blessings’ mother, Patience. “Just months ago, she couldn’t hold anything. Now, she can dress herself. She can easily put on her uniform and button it herself. I can see she smiles a lot now. Thank God for the generous donors. Please know how much we appreciate you.”
Stories like Blessings’ are a powerful reminder that with a focus on improving form and function, we can drastically change a child’s life.
This type of free-tissue transfer surgery has never previously been performed on a child in Zimbabwe. The need is huge, the waiting list is long, and we rely on donor support to fund this life-changing work. This surgery marks the beginning of lasting change. Our specialist team are now equipped to creatively repair and reconstruct a huge range of congenital and acquired deformities.
Training the next generation
In partnership with ReSurge International, CURE is also launching a new training programme to teach these microsurgical techniques to local Zimbabwean surgeons - equipping them to offer the same life-changing procedures to many more children in the years to come.
This is exactly the kind of sustainable, high impact care your support enables. Every gift you give to CURE UK helps fund surgeries for children like Blessings - children with no other access to the specialised care they need - and helps train the next generation of local surgical leaders in Africa.
Blessings’ story is just the beginning. CURE Zimbabwe is now resourced to provide creative surgical techniques for a huge range of congenital and acquired deformities. Together, we can open the door to healing and hope for countless more children across the country.