Fingertips reattached after snowblower mishap

A team of plastic surgeons said Tuesday they've seen more than a dozen people across the region who have seriously hurt their limbs since Sunday's blizzard while trying to unclog snowblowers.

Even when a snowblower is off, the pent-up torque in the machine can activate the sharp blades and maim body parts like hands, legs and feet - accounting for many of the victims.

"Even when the machine is off and the machine is unplugged . . . when you put your hand into the machine you can still have damage done to your hand," said Dr. Thomas Davenport, head of microsurgery at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola.

That's what happened to Mario Gianfrancesco on Monday morning, when he nearly lost the tips of two of his fingers.

A snowblower operated by his brother jammed, and the Mineola resident tried to clear the blockage by putting his gloved hand in the propeller.

The blower grabbed the glove and partially amputated the middle and ring fingers of the 34-year-old carpenter's left hand at the first knuckle of both fingers, he recalled Tuesday at a news conference with Davenport and Dr. Tommaso Addona, a surgeon who helped reattach the mangled fingers.

Gianfrancesco said he was in "pure shock" when he realized what had happened to his hand.

"It was a freak accident," he said holding his bandaged hand.

He said he was so shaken by the accident that he hesitated to stand close to a snowblower that news conference organizers had put on display.

Doctors said he'd be able to use the hand again in a month and should have full function in the fingers in several months.

"We managed to reattach both fingers. Both fingers were functioning and worked very, very well," Davenport said.

Nassau Legis. Dennis Dunne Sr. (R-Levittown), who heads the legislature's public safety committee, was on hand Tuesday to offer some advice: Never use body parts to clear a snowblower, use an object such as a block or piece of plastic instead.

Said Addona: "You never actually introduce any limb - foot, hand, fingers - into the actual device."