Surgeons Use Leeches to Reattach Man's Dangling Hand

Surgeons are crediting leeches for allowing them to reattach a man's hand that was nearly bitten off by a shark, abc.net.au reported Tuesday.

Glen Orgias was attacked by a great white shark while surfing at Sydney, Australia's Bondi Beach two weeks ago at dusk.

He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital with his hand hanging by a 3-centimeter piece of skin, doctors said.

Dr. Kevin Ho, a plastic surgeon, said reattachment of the hand seemed impossible initially.

But, by using leeches to restore blood flow to the hand, doctors were not only able to reattach it, but are hopeful Orgias will be able to regain function to it some day.

"I thought the hopes for the hand were close to zero, but I have hope in time that Glenn will have a working hand," Ho said. "It certainly won't be like our own hand, but it'd be much better than a prosthesis. We're far from out of the woods but I think for him to make it to this stage is a minor miracle and a reflection of how healthy and physically well he is."

Click here to read more on this story from abc.net.au.