Doctors Optimistic on Boy’s Reattached Arm

Doctors who surgically reattached a 4-year-old boy’s arm after it was severed by a front-loading laundry machine said Wednesday that chances are good that the procedure was successful.

Blood was circulating through Malik Singletary’s limb and there was a pulse in his wrist and upper arm, a doctor said.

“We’re now getting to a point where we’re fairly confident we are probably up to the 85% chance that the limb will survive,” said Dr. John Reinisch, who led a team of surgeons in a 12-hour operation at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles. It could take 18 months for the nerves to regrow, the doctor said.

“They are hearing a pulse in the arm at the wrist as well as in the upper arm, which is good,” said hospital spokesman Steve Rutledge.

The child’s arm was severed just above the elbow Sunday evening at a Hollywood coin-operated laundry. Malik’s wrist got caught in the machine and his arm spun around and ripped off.

The youngster, who was in fair condition, has been unconscious since arriving at Childrens Hospital.

“He is still sedated, unconscious, to keep him from moving,” Rutledge said, explaining “a 4-year-old wouldn’t hold still for long.”

The boy was expected to remain sedated through Friday with release from the hospital next week, the spokesman said.