00:00 A person named Eddie grabbed onto a train and was hanging from it with his right arm.

03:57 A boy named Eddie had his arm torn off while hanging from a train, but became the first successful recipient of a full limb reattachment surgery.

08:02 The process of limb reattachment surgery involves reattaching arteries first for circulation and then reattaching the bone for stability, and it is an extremely involved surgery that can last an entire day.

12:13 Microsurgery techniques have been used to replace toes with thumbs and to perform free flat tissue transfer, where tissue from one part of the body is used to repair damage in another part, such as inserting fingers into an arm and later removing them as a skin graft.

16:14 If your hand is severed and you want to try to reattach it, you should call 911, stabilize the patient, stop the bleeding, put the hand on ice (in a bag, not directly on ice), and hope that you have a good hospital nearby with available surgeons.

20:05 In limb reattachment surgery, the bone is reattached first for stability, followed by reattaching the blood vessels to restore blood flow and prevent further tissue death; the amount of time a severed limb can be reattached varies depending on temperature and refrigeration, with up to four days being possible; the surgery ideally should be done as soon as possible, but refrigeration can extend the window for reattachment; muscle degradation is a major concern in reattachment surgery; the process involves multiple surgeries, including a skin graft and potentially cross transfer, where a hand from one side is attached to the opposite arm.

24:18 Cross transfer surgery involves taking a lower leg and turning it around so that the knee becomes locked and the calf muscles serve the function of the thigh muscles, while the knee joint is now in the ankle, providing extra support for a prosthetic foot.

28:27 Extracellular matrix, a substance found in plants, animals, and humans, has the ability to prevent inflammation and scar tissue formation, and can even signal the body to regrow lost body parts, such as a finger.

32:30 Scientists are exploring ways to naturally trigger the body's ability to regrow body parts, like antlers on deer, by activating the dormant function of the extracellular matrix.