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[00:00.94] Surprisingly, severed tissues can survive for a few hours without these resources.

[00:07.32] And keeping them cool further slows the rate of tissue death, generally giving surgeons a 6-to-12-hour window for reattachment.

[00:16.35] But once the tissues die, reconnecting them won’t bring them back to life.

[00:21.66] This tight timeline is especially challenging for surgeons.

[00:26.18] Due to the issues we’ve already mentioned, reattachment operations are fairly uncommon.

[00:32.29] So most hospitals don’t have the tools and expertise required to tackle these time-sensitive procedures.

[00:39.99] And even if they do, nerve repair is extremely tricky.

[00:44.50] With perfectly clean cuts, surgeons can attempt to stitch nerves back together directly.

[00:50.88] And when a cut is ragged, they may try to create nerve conduits— tunnels between nerve ends that can allow the nerves to reconnect over time.

[01:01.24] But neither these, nor any other surgical options, reliably restore movement and sensation.

[01:09.21] All these obstacles make it highly unlikely that a lost limb can be reattached.

[01:15.32] However, medical technology has developed another dependable solution for amputation: prosthetics.

[01:21.69] Today, prostheses come in countless forms to replace numerous body parts.

[01:28.87] Prosthetic legs are excellent for walking and running.

[01:33.12] Prosthetic arms have historically struggled to replicate our hands’ fine motor movements.

[01:38.69] However, new myoelectric prostheses can detect electrical activity in nearby muscles and then translate those signals into relatively precise movements.

[01:50.38] But perhaps the most dramatic development in prosthetic technology is transcutaneous osseointegration.

[01:58.62] First successfully performed in 1990, this procedure surgically anchors a metal implant into the bone of the remaining limb.

[02:08.98] The bone then grows into the crevices of the metal, creating a permanent connection.

[02:15.35] These implants extend through a portal in the skin, and can be attached to any prosthesis, which solves a handful of common prosthetic issues.

[02:25.71] Where traditional prosthetics can be heavy, providing a direct skeletal connection makes their weight feel more natural.

[02:33.42] Osseointegrated prosthetics are also less likely to irritate the skin where they attach, and they can offer more sensation by transmitting forces like vibration through the implant to the bone.

[02:47.76] Even with all these new technologies, not everyone wants to replace or reattach a lost limb.

[02:54.93] After an amputation, some people opt to rely on their remaining limbs, with or without the help of mobility aids and other adaptive equipment.