After a devastating farm accident nearly cost him his hand, Idaho farmer Tanner Harper turned to specialists at U of U Health for life-changing reconstructive surgery—and a second chance at recovery.
For Tanner Harper, a third-generation farmer in Paul, Idaho, every morning starts with the same routine: checking his tractor and other machinery before he hits the fields.
Harper, an experienced farmer, works with his dad on the family farm growing sugar beets, potatoes, barley, and hay. One morning last fall, he had an accident while oiling a chain on his beet digger.
“I went to pull out some weeds in the bearing and my sweatshirt or glove must have gotten caught,” Harper said. “It all happened so fast I can’t say for certain how exactly my hand found its way to getting caught between a moving chain and sprocket.”
The tendons of his thumb, along with some skin, kept his hand from being completely severed.
Harper, who was on his own at the time, wrapped his hand in his sweatshirt and drove 10 miles to the nearest hospital, Cassia Regional in Burley, Idaho.
Even though Harper hadn’t had a chance to call his wife, Kennedy, before arriving at the hospital, she was by his side in no time.
An hour later, Harper was airlifted by medical helicopter to University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Due to the severity of Harper’s injury, a multidisciplinary team of providers at СAPP, including specialists from both the Department of Orthopaedics and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, collaborated to provide comprehensive care. Orthopedic surgeon Brian Foster, MD, did the initial surgery to reattach Harper’s hand. Foster, who specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery, started Harper’s first operation around 11:00 am—less than five hours after Harper’s accident.
“We started by cleaning the wound,” Foster said. “It was unbelievably dirty. We took out beet stumps, beet leaves, mud, and oil for about two hours to get it as clean as possible.”
Foster then got to work reattaching the hand, establishing blood flow, and fixating the bones.
“His thumb tendons were still intact,” Foster. said “That meant it was worthwhile to try and save his hand instead of amputating.”
Thirteen hours later, the first operation was complete.
Although Harper’s hand was reattached, he had lost a substantial amount of skin. More skin was removed in the days and weeks after his initial surgery, leaving his hand as an open wound.
Over the next two weeks, Harper had an angiogram to evaluate the blood flow to his hand, along with multiple surgeries to wash out his wound and remove dead skin, tissues, and muscles that had died due to a lack of blood flow.
Harper and his wife met with Foster and Laura Wong, MD, PhD, to discuss the next phase of his treatment. Wong is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in all aspects of upper extremity reconstruction and microsurgery.
“Tanner is a perfect example of how orthopedic hand surgery and plastic surgery can work together to solve a very complicated injury,” Wong said.
Foster and Wong spent hours with Harper and his wife, answering questions and reviewing the options for treatment.
“Dr. Wong and Dr. Foster were absolutely amazing,” Harper said. “The way that they handled the situation was absolutely incredible.”
Because of the amount of skin and tissue loss, Harper’s reconstruction would involve the front and back of the hand, along with the web space between his index finger and his thumb.
“These kinds of wounds are really challenging,” Wong said. “We often need to do two or three additional procedures beyond the initial reconstructive surgery to make sure the tendons are functional.”
Harper had two options: amputate his hand and get a prosthetic or take the long road and see what function he regained in his hand over time.
“I’m a very stubborn and determined person, so that definitely played a part in how we decided to move forward,” Harper said.
After hours of discussion and brainstorming over several days, it was decided: Wong would do reconstructive surgery on Harper.
“We needed two parts to be able to cover the back and the front of his hand to make sure we had the coverage he needed,” Wong said.
Wong took part of Harper’s latissimus muscle and parascapular flap to cover the wound on his hand.
Foster and Wong worked together during surgery—another intensive, 13-hour effort.
Foster worked on more tendon reattachment and placed pins in Harper’s fingers to prevent contracture after surgery. Wong then did her part with the skin flap placement and reconstruction.
“The collaboration between the two of us has been really nice,” Wong said. “I think the more collaboration we have, the better it is for patient care.”
During his hospital stay, Harper had seven surgeries. He recently had his eighth surgery to remove some of the hardware from his hand.
“It’s just crazy how much they have been able to work together to get me to where I am,” Harper said. “My wife and I love them both, and we don’t think of them as doctors. We think of them as friends.”
Harper is nearly five months out from his accident, which happened on October 23, 2024.
And even though he is stubborn and determined, it hasn’t been an easy road.
“There have definitely been times where I just wanted them to cut my hand off and get me out of there,” Harper said. “But I’ve made it this far because of the amazing support system I have.”
Harper now has stable coverage of his hand as he works to regain as much range of motion as possible. The swelling in his hand is improving, and he is working on pinching and grabbing things.
He also has an added dose of motivation to keep getting better. He and his wife are welcoming their second baby—this time, a little girl—next month.
