Changsha, China resident Xio Wei’s hand was severed in an accident so physicians attached it to his ankle. That kept the hand alive for a month until it was reattached to his arm. From BBC News:
Mr Cairian Healy of the Royal College of Surgeons in England (who was not involved in the surgery) said although procedures such as these were rare, they were not inconceivable.
“The Chinese are pretty experienced in microsurgery,” he said.
“And the concept of saving a severed part of the body by attaching it to another part of the body to give it a blood supply is well recognised.