Cancer patient's leg attached to arm to keep it alive during surgery

Surgeons in Britain removed a man's tumour and rebuilt his body using leg muscles and tissue they had removed and attached to his arm to keep alive.

The operation on Sunderland man Ian McGregor lasted 18 hours and is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK, the BBC reported.

Surgeons in Newcastle took his calf, attached it to his arm and then used it to repair the site of the operation.

The large aggressive tumour had spread from McGregor's pelvis into his thigh. Previous attempts had been made to treat the cancer over the past 10 years but had been unsuccessful.

For the latest attempt, surgeons feared the hole left would be too big to repair. Then the team at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital came up with the idea to remove his lower leg, except for the bones, and attach it to his forearm - thereby maintaining the blood flow.

After removing his leg and the tumour they then disconnected the calf from his forearm and used it to repair the area from where the tumour had been removed.