Francisco Bucio – Rising from the Rubble

There were few things in the world that Francisco Bucio wanted more than the fulfillment of his desire -to be a surgeon. At the age of twenty-seven, Francisco seemed well on his way to achieving that dream. His skill had earned him a residency in plastic surgery at Mexico City’s General Hospital, and in only a few more years he’d be able to establish a private practice. Then, on September 19, 1985, Francisco’s world crashed down around him.

An earthquake, one of the largest in history, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, claimed more than 42000 lives. What could not be measured was the toll the earth quake took on human dreams.

When the tremors started, Francisco was in his room on the hospital’s fifth floor. When the tremors ended, he was on the ground floor, buried under tons of debris. In total darkness, as he listened to the drying gasps of his roommate, Francisco realized his right hand- the one with which he performed surgery-was crushed under a massive steel beam. As Francisco struggled painfully and frantically, unable to pull his hand free, he started to panic. As a doctor, he knew that without circulation, his hand would turn gangrenous, and if that happened, the hand would have to be amputated.

As the hours passed, Francisco drifted in and out of consciousness, growing weaker and weaker. But outside the building, the determination that runs in the Bucio family was making its mark. His father and six brothers joined countless volunteers digging frantically in the rubble with picks and shovels. His family never lost hope. Four days later, they finally reached Francisco.

Professional Rescuers at the scene said they would have to cut off Francisco’s hand to free him. His family, aware of Francisco’s dream of becoming a surgeon, refused. Instead, the rescue team worked there more hours with a crane to lift the beam crushing Francisco’s hand. Once Francisco was freed, they rushed him to another hospital. In the months that followed, while Mexico struggled to rebuild its capital, Francisco Bucio struggled to rebuild his dream.

The first step was an eighteen-hour operation that surgeons hoped would save Francisco’s damaged hand. But as days passed, Francisco’s hope dimmed. Nerves in his fingers failed to regenerate, and after three weeks, doctors were forced to amputate four fingers, leaving only Francisco’s thumb. By then, Francisco had steeled himself for what lay ahead; his goal now was to save what was left of his right hand. Over the next few months, he underwent five more operations. Still his hand would not function. Without his right hand, how could he operate on patients? Francisco set out in search of a miracle.

His quest led him to San Francisco and Dr. Harry Buncke, Chief of Microsurgery at Davies Medical Center. Dr. Buncke hand pioneered the transplantation of toes to replace missing fingers. Francisco realized that Dr. Buncke was probably his last hope and promised himself, If Dr. Buncke can successfully complete the operation; I’ll take care of the rest.

In the surgery, Dr. Buncke replaced Francisco’s ring and pinkie fingers with two of his toes. After time and hard work, Francisco was able to grasp objects between his thumb and two “fingers.” This enabled him to do simple tasks like buttoning his clothes. After recuperating from the complex surgery, Francisco threw himself full force into an intensive therapy and exercises program. He spent painful hours placing pegs into pegboards, then laboring with a pencil and pad until he could sign his name perfectly. Dr. Buncke assured him, “A hand rehabilitates itself to its own need. If the needs are great, the skills become great.”

After several months of dedicated rehabilitation, Francisco returned to Mexico City where he performed limited duties at the hospital and continued to train like an Olympic athlete. He swam for conditioning and, to strengthen his hand, practiced trying and untying thousands of knots, suturing with needles on clothes, dicing food into tiny pieces, and rolling rubber balls between his new fingers. In the beginning, completing even the simplest movements was awkward and frustrating. But Francisco persisted until he was able to perform each task with precision. He worked his left hand too, training himself to be ambidextrous.

Then came the day when Francisco faced his most critical test. A senior resident had been watching Francisco progress from cleaning and wrapping wounds to executing simple surgical procedures like removing moles. He asked Francisco to assist in an operation on a man with broken nose. The procedure was extremely delicate, and Francisco assumed he would simply pass the instruments. But as the resident prepared to remove cartilage from the man’s rib for use in rebuilding the nose, he turned to Francisco and said, “You get the cartilage.”

It was Francisco’s moment of truth and he knew it. The success of this procedure would mean his return to surgery-or a devastating setback. Taking courage in hand-both hands-he painstakingly removed the cartilage. What would have been done by another surgeon in ten minutes took Francisco one hour, but it was an hour of triumph. Later in describing the event, he said, “This procedure required a lot of skill and when I did it, I realized I could do anything!”

Today’s Francisco Bucio is a highly regarded plastic surgeon practicing at two locations in Tijuana and offering a full range of services. He also volunteers his time working with the poor, correcting the cleft palates of children and performing reconstructive surgery on young burn victims. “Having and six operations of my own,” he said, “I can empathize with my patients-I know how it feels to be afraid.”

Some people affectionately called him the “surgeon who operates with his feet.” Francisco doesn’t mind. With a smile, he replied, “My hand may not look pretty, but it works just fine. It is the miracle that allows me to do the work I most love and to give something back to those who now need miracles of their own.”

“We all faced obstacles of one kind or another in life. But if you let your deepest passion serve as your fuel, you’ll be able to travel the road back and move on to make your dreams happen.” Dr Francisco Bucio