Surgeon restores teen's fingers after accident

Jacob Cooper lives for the outdoors. When the eleventh-grader isn’t in school, he can be found hunting, fishing, riding a four wheeler or working. Even his part-time job — assembling and servicing motorcycles, four wheelers and jet skies — helps others enjoy the open air.

Considering Jacob nearly lost complete use of his fingers, the fact that he can still thread a spark plug is a miracle. Surgeons at Children’s, the only pediatric hospital in North Texas with two orthopedic trauma hand surgeons, saved Jacob’s hand.

Lazy summer afternoon takes a turn for the worse

During the summer of 2007, Jacob and his friend, Justin Hamilton, decided to turn an ordinary day into an adventure. On a whim, the 16-year-olds grabbed machetes and set out to clear a trail near Jacob’s Paris, Texas home.

As the boys traipsed through the woodsy area, Jacob turned the machete backward in his right hand. Within seconds, he tripped and fell. The knife hit the ground, and Jacob’s hand slipped off the handle before gliding down the sharp edge of the blade.

“I felt a pain so bad I can’t describe it,” Jacob said. “I held up my hand and my fingers were lying backward.”

Jacob quickly tore off his shirt and wrapped his hand before jumping on the bike and clinging to Justin with one hand. Katy, Jacob’s 18-year-old sister, drove Jacob to a local hospital, where they took one glance and knew he needed to be at Children’s. Jacob and his dad, Bryan Cooper, boarded a plane with the Children’s transport team.

A critical situation

“Jacob had deep lacerations over the joints of his third, fourth and fifth fingers that cut all his tendons and nerves to his fingers,” said Dr. Christine Ho, pediatric orthopedic specialist at Children’s and assistant professor of Orthopedic Surgery at UT Southwestern. “The machete cut through six tendons and six nerves as well as the capsule to his joints.”

Because Children’s is a Level I Trauma Center, most of Dr. Ho’s patients involve traumatic injuries, but she also treats congenital and acquired problems.

Restoring hand function

After a successful surgery to restore Jacob’s hand, Ann Garvin, a certified hand therapist at Children’s, taught Jacob techniques to get him back to writing with his dominant hand and using it for basic functions. After Jacob went home, Garvin coordinated with a therapist in Paris to continue his recovery.

Most hospitals have occupational therapists, but a certified hand therapist (CHT) has advanced education in treating hand disorders and is certified by the American Society of Hand Therapists.

“Children’s is fortunate to have a full-time CHT on staff,” Dr. Ho said. “A surgeon can perform a technically perfect surgery, but unless you have a skilled therapist and a compliant patient, your results will be compromised.”

“Jacob is back to doing what he loves. He can’t be slowed down,” Amanda said.

Tags: machete , hand trauma , orthopedic surgeon , hand , trauma