A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl’s severely damaged finger was saved by Zhuang Yongqing, a surgeon with Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The girl, who goes by Jiajia, had her little finger stuck in a door at her home’s balcony when picking up clothes during the typhoon June 14.

Her little finger was badly injured and the finger tip was barely hanging on.

Jiajia’s father, surnamed Zhou, immediately took her to a nearby hospital. The operation lasted four to five hours, but the result was not ideal.

The artery, vein and nerves in Jiajia’s little finger were severed. The surgery connected the artery and nerves but left a severed vein. What’s worse, Jiajia’s little finger kept bleeding after the surgery and the finger tip gradually turned black.

Jiajia’s mother then turned to her WeChat Moments for help. Many friends recommended Zhuang.

With some assistance, Jiajia’s father got in touch with Zhuang, and Jiajia was once again in the operation room — 36 hours after the incident had occurred.

The best time to treat broken fingers is between 8 and 12 hours after an accident. Jiajia was well past the best treatment time and her blood vessels had already swelled, which caused more uncertainties for the second surgery, according to a report.

Zhuang finally found the severed vein using a microscope. However, the diameter of the vein is only 0.5 millimeters, meaning that any little bit of force would break it.

In order to overcome the difficulty, Zhuang used the smallest surgical line, which is thinner than hair and only visible under microscope, to connect the vein.

The whole surgery lasted eight hours with one hour dedicated to the stitching of the vein.

Although the surgery was successful, full recovery of Jiajia’s finger required successful post-surgery care.

Luckily, through the hospital’s meticulous care, Jiajia was able to move her finger after being discharged from the hospital Friday. (Wang Jingli)