Mallorca crash: surgeons rebuild leg at risk of amputation

Mallorca: A serious road crash leaves a 58-year-old woman at risk of losing her leg, and surgeons at Son Llàtzer University Hospital in Palma reconstruct it. The Balearic Islands Department of Health reported the hospital’s first operation of this kind on 15 October 2026.

Both bones in the woman’s lower leg were badly broken, with an open wound and a large area of skin and tissue missing. The reconstruction aimed to keep the leg and reduce the risk of amputation.

Six hours to repair the damage

The operation took six hours. Trauma surgeons set the broken bones and fixed the shinbone with a rod inside it. Plastic surgeons then moved muscle from the woman’s back to her leg, using microsurgery to connect tiny blood vessels. They used a second flap of tissue to cover an area near her knee.

She stayed in hospital for just under a month.

Treatment closer to home

Until now, Son Llàtzer had to send cases like this to another hospital. Carrying out the operation there means patients in its area can receive treatment at their own hospital rather than travel to another centre. The hospital plans to build on the work between its trauma and plastic surgery teams and gradually treat more cases there.

Topics: Health

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com