Doctors save left foot by attaching it to right leg

April 7, 2011 · Posted in innovation, problem solving 

Left foot attached to right leg saves foot

Doctors in China use many principles of Predictive Innovation® to save a man’s foot when it was cut off in an accident.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Doctors_put_left_foot_on_right_leg

The man’s foot was cut off because of an accident. The damage to the leg prevented the foot from being immediately reattached. So there was a dilemma.

Must re-attach the foot to the leg immediately so it doesn’t die; but, we can’t attach the foot until the leg heals and grows.

One way to handle dilemmas is to invert then rephrase. Instead of immediately reattaching the foot to the same leg they attached it to the other leg. This was a great idea because the patient would not be able to walk while the other leg was growing and healing after moving it to the correct leg. Attaching the foot to the patients other leg is the perfect environment for the foot while waiting.

Other approaches have been tried such as freezing the organ to be reattached. Current technology can’t reliably prevent damage from ice crystals.

Another improvement could be using stem cells cultured from the patient and sprayed onto a growth matrix. This could accelerate the grow and the healing when the foot is reattached.

Another inversion is to let the foot die and attach a cloned foot. That technology has already been used for less complicated body parts.

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