12-year-old’s arm reattached; recovery could take years

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

A Pennsylvania surgeon who reattached a 12-year-old boy’s severed arm says the limb is doing well, but that the extent of the arm’s recovery won’t be known for months or even years.

Dr. Lorelei Grunwaldt tells The Associated Press that Seth Apel’s arm was severed just below the shoulder on Saturday. But the limb wasn’t mangled, which helped her to restore health blood flow to the limb during eight hours of microsurgery.

The Clarion County boy’s parents, Josh and Angela Apel, say he was helping his father and brothers unload firewood when his arm got caught in a tractor mechanism being used to power a belt-driven trailer that hauled and automatically unloaded the wood.

The boy was in good condition Wednesday at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.