In a groundbreaking medical first for Kenya, a 22-year-old student who lost his left hand in a tragic accident has regained sensation in the missing limb following a pioneering surgical procedure at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
Moses Mwendwa, a software engineering student, had his hand amputated above the elbow in January after developing compartment syndrome from a severe fall.
While he physically lost the limb, he continued to suffer intense phantom limb pain—an unsettling condition where the brain still perceives sensations from the absent limb.
The accident profoundly altered his life, forcing him to cope with both physical pain and the emotional and psychological turmoil brought on by the persistent sensation that his missing hand was still there.
“I used to feel pain in the amputated limb, which made me think it was still there. Sometimes I would feel like touching it, but it wasn’t there,” Mwendwa said.
His turning point came when KNH offered him a chance to undergo Transhumeral Targeted Sensory Reinnervation (TSR), a complex nerve surgery performed during a surgical camp from April 28 to May 2.
A team of plastic, orthopaedic, and reconstructive surgeons worked for over seven hours to rewire nerves from the severed limb into the skin.
The result: a newly mapped brain-skin connection that allows Mwendwa to feel touch, heat, and even pain—exactly where his hand once was.
“Feeling my missing hand again after believing it was gone forever is not just medicine—it’s magic,” Mwendwa told journalists.
KNH hailed the surgery as the first of its kind in Kenya.
“We’ve not only eased his pain—we’ve opened new doors for amputees across Africa,” said Dr. Benjamin Wabwire, Head of Plastic Surgery at KNH.
The operation sets a new benchmark in Kenya’s surgical capabilities.
Written By Lisa Murimi.
