The man who replaced his lost thumb with his big toe
James Byrne severed his thumb in a carpentry accident before deciding on a most unusual course of treatment

Twenty-nine-year-old carpenter James Byrne accidently sawed off his left thumb. Surgeons managed to reattach his severed thumb, but he never regained use of it, despite months of treatment. So Byrne's doctors made an "unusual suggestion": Why not replace his thumb with his big toe instead? Here, a brief guide to this strange tale:
Why?
When surgeons couldn't get blood flood flowing back into Byrne's reattached thumb, things looked grim. Without a working thumb, he wouldn't be able to do things we take for granted — like opening a door. He certainly would not have been able to do carpentry as before. So his doctors suggested using his dominant toe instead. "Losing a toe would only affect his balance in the short term," says Claire Bates at Britain's Daily Mail. Regaining a moving thumb would allow him to resume his work as a carpenter and plant operator, "therefore outweighing the loss."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And the surgery worked?
So far, yes. The team had to operate simultaneously on Byrne's toe and hand to attach skin, bones, nerves, arteries, tendons, and ligaments so his new thumb would function properly. "I can't bend it yet but I hope to be able to do so soon," says Byrne, who is undergoing physiotherapy. "I never thought it would work but the surgical teams and nurses have done such a fantastic job... I am so, so pleased that I had it done."
Aren't people weirded out?
Some are, yes. Byrne, a father of an 8-year-old, says his new toe-thumb stands out. He's even given it a name: "Toby." Some people "think it's really funny while others are a bit disgusted by it," he says. "My son thinks it's great. I showed it to all of his (friends) and became a bit of a celebrity in the playground for awhile." Even if some people find Byrne's extra-large thumb a little funny, says Jesus Diaz at Gizmodo, "as long as it works, who cares?"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sources: Daily Mail, Gizmodo, International Business Times
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Crossword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff