29.10.2026 19:34
Baran Tanzi, 13, living in Avcılar, Istanbul, lost 5 fingers of his right hand after it got caught in a machine while he was grinding meat at the butcher shop where he was working as an apprentice on April 19. In place of the thumb that could not be saved, the second toe of his left foot was transplanted to his hand as a thumb in an approximately 10-hour operation performed on October 6. Doctors aim for Baran to be able to use his hand in 3-4 months.
Baran Tanzi, 13, living in Istanbul, allegedly caught 5 fingers in a meat grinder while working as an apprentice at a butcher’s shop. After the terrible incident, his foot’s second toe was transferred to his hand as a thumb in an operation lasting about 10 hours. Speaking about the operation, Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Mehmet Fatih Çamlı said, “He applied to us after he caught all the fingers of his right hand in a meat grinder while working as an apprentice at a butcher’s shop. We successfully transferred the second toe from his foot to his hand as a thumb using microsurgical methods. Once the first 24 hours passed, there was serious relief. Currently our patient is using a splint, and in 3-4 months we aim for him to be able to use his hand.”
Baran Tanzi, 13, living in Istanbul’s Avcılar district, allegedly began working as an apprentice at a butcher’s shop, and on April 19, while he wanted to grind meat, he caught his right hand in the machine and lost 5 fingers. After the terrible incident, 112 and the fire department were immediately notified, and Tanzi was taken to Prof. Dr. Cemil Taşcıoğlu City Hospital. The thumb, the only finger of Tanzi’s that was saved in the incident, was handed over to medical teams. The child was immediately taken into surgery by the plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery team. When it was understood that the thumb brought to the hospital had suffered severe blows in more than one place and could not be reattached to its place, it was decided to carry out the operation in a way suitable for repair to be performed later.
TRANSFER SURGERY LASTING 10 HOURS
While waiting for the time needed for tissues to heal after the first surgery, the team told the family that a toe-to-hand transfer could be performed from the patient’s foot to his hand. With the family’s approval, the transfer surgery was carried out on October 6 with joint planning by the anesthesia, pediatric intensive care, and plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery departments. In the operation, the second toe of the patient’s left foot was successfully transferred to his hand as a thumb. After the approximately 10-hour operation involving Prof. Dr. Ethem Güneren, Op. Dr. Mehmet Fatih Çamlı and their teams, both the family and the medical team followed the critical first 24 hours meticulously and with excitement. The team, who checked their patient every hour, experienced happiness as the critical period was passed and also gave information about the operation process. Father Sadık Tanzi, on the other hand, recounted the incident and what happened afterward for his son, who was discharged.
A VERY RARE OPERATION
Stating that Turkey has accomplished very advanced work in many areas of healthcare, Prof. Dr. Ethem Güneren said that they also meticulously perform many operations in their clinics. Saying that the operation was a large team effort, Güneren thanked all his team members who contributed. Conveying that they expect the process to get better day by day in the patient, Güneren continued his words as follows:
“The butcher’s apprentice is losing all his fingers. We performed a toe-to-hand transfer operation with a whole team effort, with the support of Prof. Dr. Mehmet Veli Karaaltın and the personal efforts of Op. Dr. Mehmet Fatih. We accomplished something good; toe-to-hand transfer is a very rarely performed operation. We continue to do our duty both in service and in the scientific arena.”
Speaking about his patient, Op. Dr. Mehmet Fatih Çamlı said, “He applied to us via 112 on April 19. With the on-call team that day, I also joined the case and we took him into emergency surgery. He had only been able to bring his thumb with him. When we understood that we could not save the thumb either, we aimed to save the viable tissues in his hand in that surgery, planning to perform an advanced repair technique later. Afterward, we did not stop his follow-ups, and we successfully performed the toe-to-hand transfer surgery from his foot to his hand. For him to be able to use his hand; the first function of the hand is the grasping function, and for this there is a need for a thumb. When we understood in the first surgery that we could not save the thumb, we decided that we needed to give the patient a thumb later.”
HE WILL BE ABLE TO USE HIS HAND AFTER 3-4 MONTHS
Saying ‘We see its blood supply during surgery, but especially in the first 24 hours there is a possibility of this blood supply deteriorating and a possibility of clot formation,’ Op. Dr. Çamlı used the following statements: “The surgery lasted about 10 hours. We transferred not his big toe but his second toe from his foot to his hand as a thumb using microsurgical methods. We stitch the vessels of the tissue we take under the microscope. Both our on-call team and we made close, hourly follow-ups. Once the first 24 hours passed, there was serious relief. Currently our patient is using a splint, and there is some equipment in his hand to fix it to the bone. These will be removed within 1 month, and afterward there will be an intensive physical therapy process. In 3-4 months we aim for him to be able to use his hand. He applied to us after he caught all the fingers on his hand in a meat grinder while working as an apprentice at a butcher’s shop.”
HE DECIDED TO STUDY AFTER THE ACCIDENT
Speaking about what his son experienced, 47-year-old Sadık Tanzi said, “He went to his friend, and said, ‘I will hang around at the butcher’s shop for a few days.’ The butcher friend had no idea either; a customer came and said, ‘Grind some meat for me and give it to me,’ and while he was grinding meat, he caught his hand in the meat grinder. Afterward, the ambulance came, they informed us. They got his hand out with the help of the fire department. I thank Ethem, my teacher Mehmet, and his team very much. It was a very big surgery, they gave us confidence. We had meetings 2-3 times; we said, teacher, can you do it, my child’s hand is gone, let his foot not be gone too. As a family we were anxious; thank goodness we trusted. May God not bring it upon anyone, it is a very great pain. He himself wanted to work; he is studying. At first he said, ‘I don’t want to study,’ we struggled for 15-20 days; he did not go to school so that he would study. After the accident, he has now decided to study. Only a father would care for his child like that; they did not just care for the patient, they cared for their child. The child’s morale; from a psychologist to aesthetics, they took care of everything.”
Meanwhile, as Tanzi’s treatment continues, it was learned that the family did not file a complaint against the butcher’s shop where their child worked as an apprentice.