• Business
  • Life
  • Celebrity
  • Sport
  • Blog
  • Auto
  • Tech
Stories from SWNS
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Karim Tahseen Khayat: Seeds Training Services and Digital Services

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    From HID to LED

    From HID to LED

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Business
  • Life
    • Celebrity
  • Tech
    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Review

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay on the Nintendo Switch

    Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review

    macOS Sierra review: Mac users get a modest update this year

    Hands on: Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 review

    The Last Guardian Playstation 4 Game review

    Intel Core i7-7700K ‘Kaby Lake’ review

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Living The Fantasy: An Interview With The Serpent Calls Author Christopher Bramley

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Sharp As A Razor: An Interview With Atheist Author Harry Margulies

    Karim Tahseen Khayat: Seeds Training Services and Digital Services

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    Dig into Temporarily Insane by Carl Borgen

    From HID to LED

    From HID to LED

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Business
  • Life
    • Celebrity
  • Tech
    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    Which elements should you have for a good landing page?

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    4 IT Services Trends in 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Top 5 New Technologies in the Payment Industry For 2022

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Online casinos: A trend that grows daily

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    Artificial Intelligence and Online Casino Games

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    What are the Latest Digital Marketing Trends?

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
  • Review

    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay on the Nintendo Switch

    Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun Review

    macOS Sierra review: Mac users get a modest update this year

    Hands on: Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 review

    The Last Guardian Playstation 4 Game review

    Intel Core i7-7700K ‘Kaby Lake’ review

No Result
View All Result
Stories from SWNS
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Man who had operation cancelled saves leg by cutting off his toes with pliers

by
October 25, 2016
in News
0
Man who had operation cancelled saves leg by cutting off his toes with pliers
0
SHARES
21
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A man who had an operation cancelled at the last minute literally took matters into his own hands and amputated his TOES – with a pair of PLIERS.

Desperate Paul Dibbins, 57, had been due to have his leg removed below the knee after suffering serious frost bite on his feet while repairing a car in freezing conditions.

But the surgery was called off by the NHS and fed up dad-of-three Paul decided to tend the condition himself at home.

Paul Dibbins from Scorriton, Devon, who used a pair of plier to cut two of his toes off
Paul Dibbins from Scorriton, Devon, who used a pair of plier to cut two of his toes off

He spent months trying to heal his toes but six months later a doctor told him he had killer gangrene and they would have to be removed.

But he claims he was then told he would have to wait six weeks for an operation and Paul decided to cut off the troubled toes himself.

The former army Lance Corporal used some military training – and no painkillers – and he scraped off the dead flesh around the two toes on his right foot.

Paul, a film restorer and archivist, then cut through the tendon in his living room- which took around an hour.

He claims he even won praise for his handy work by a surgeon – who said he was ”mad’ but his work was “textbook”.

Incredibly, surgeons have now praised his work, lauding the 57-year-old for carrying out a 'beautiful job' and said the wounds have healed
Incredibly, surgeons have now praised his work, lauding the 57-year-old for carrying out a ‘beautiful job’ and said the wounds have healed

Paul, of Buckfastleigh, Devon. said: “Knowing that it would take at least another six weeks to get me in front of a surgeon again that’s when I bit the bullet and cut off the toes.

“I did it because it’s what had to be done, my doctor told me my toes were going to kill me.

“I’ve had one surgeon say to me it was more luck than judgment but then I had another surgeon saying I was mad but it was textbook.”

Paul suffered frostbite after spending three hours fixing a blown head gasket to his son’s car during “cutting winds” in the driveway of his hilltop home on March 16, 2015.

His feet “soot black” and he was rushed into Torbay Hospital the same day and doctors told him because of complications with his diabetes they would need to amputate his right leg from the knee down.

But after being wheeled to theatre doctors pulled the plug at the last minute because of complications to another patient’s surgery who had been seen before him.

Devastated Dibbins then discharged himself from hospital hours later and thought doctors would call him in a few days to rebook an appointment – but claims they never did.

The toes (one of which is pictured above) turned 'soot black' and Mr Dibbins feared he would end up losing his entire foot
The toes (one of which is pictured above) turned ‘soot black’ and Mr Dibbins feared he would end up losing his entire foot

Paul said: “They would have cut my leg off. When I went in, my doctor and two surgeons all said prepare yourself for the worst we are taking your leg.

“I had a breakdown, bearing in mind I’d had frostbite, I had been taken to hospital in an ambulance,

”I’d been told my leg would be cut off and I was taken into surgery but it was cancelled. I just wanted to go home and see my wife and kids.”

Paul then resorted to treating his own wounds over nine months, using a Swiss army knife, sterile scissors and homemade dressing, which he did twice a day.

He said: “Taking care of myself I could see myself getting better. I could see the more work i did the better it healed.

“I took six painkillers in the first week and then none for nine months. I didn’t want to die and didn’t want my leg cut off.

”What I have always wanted to do was live in the English Countryside, it was all I wanted out of life and if I lost my leg it would have been difficult to stay.”

swns_dibbins_toes_03

Paul claims he saw doctors every six weeks after and was told he could carry on treating his frostbite until “things turned nasty”.

And it looked like he had beaten the frostbite until his right foot became infected with gas gangrene in November 2015.

But the determined former army Lance Corporal, who is medically trained, instead took matters into his own hands after being told he would need to wait weeks for an appointment.

The following evening Paul then used scissors to crunch through the gristle while biting into a wrapped towel to hide the pain, which he described as feeling like a “car wreck”.

Paul’s wife of 40 years Elaine, 57, said: “There have been ups and downs and it’s been quite a journey.

“I could not be in the room while he did it but I knew that he had to do it to save his foot, his leg and life at the end of the day.

“I could see where he was coming from although it was traumatic and emotional.

“We have been together since we were 16 years ago and he has always been a survivor.”

Previous Post

Family appeal for help in finding missing dad who has been lost in French Alps for three months

Next Post

21-year-old slapped with police caution for lying about being mugged

Next Post
21-year-old slapped with police caution for lying about being mugged

21-year-old slapped with police caution for lying about being mugged

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected test

  • 116 Followers
  • 60k Followers
  • 174k Subscribers
  • 23.6k Followers
  • 99 Subscribers
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Women love cheesy chat up lines, a study has revealed

Top 20 cheesy chat-up lines ladies really love

March 5, 2014
The top ten most well-known bingo phrases

The top ten most well-known bingo phrases

January 21, 2014
The horses thunder towards a jump at the Grand National

Amazing racehorse names which never made it

April 23, 2014
HGH Injections Brands: Which Ones Are Best?

HGH Injections Brands: Which Ones Are Best?

January 14, 2019
Chris Fear, 33, outside the Coral betting shop which is refusing to pay out on his 485/1 winning bet

Boycott Coral! Bookmaker faces protest after refusing to pay out on a football fan’s 485/1 bet

184
Women love cheesy chat up lines, a study has revealed

Top 20 cheesy chat-up lines ladies really love

147
Women feel invisible to the opposite sex at the age of 51, researchers found

Women begin feeling invisible to men ‘when they turn 51’

138
UKIP candidate claims Jews murdered each other in the Holocaust in masterplan to create State of Israel

UKIP candidate claims Jews murdered each other in the Holocaust in masterplan to create State of Israel

105
Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

August 4, 2022
Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

August 4, 2022
VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

July 29, 2022
How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

July 28, 2022

Recent News

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

August 4, 2022
Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

August 4, 2022
VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

VA Lawyer for Camp Lejeune Toxic Water

July 29, 2022
How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

How To Create The Perfect Vaping Experience

July 28, 2022
SWNS

SWNS all rights reserved. Copyright 2020

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Auto
  • Blog
  • Business
  • Celebrity
  • Gaming
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • News
  • Pictures
  • Property
  • Review
  • Sport
  • SWNS
  • Tech
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Recent News

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

Best Activities for Adrenaline Junkies

August 4, 2022
Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

Trading indices is an easy way to trade for beginners

August 4, 2022
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Real Fix is a trading style of South West News Service Limited.
Copyright © 2020 South West News Service Limited.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business
  • Life
  • Celebrity
  • Sport
  • Blog
  • Auto
  • Tech

Real Fix is a trading style of South West News Service Limited.
Copyright © 2020 South West News Service Limited.