Chen Zhongwei, 74; Pioneered Techniques for Reattaching Limbs

Chen Zhongwei, 74, a Chinese surgeon credited with pioneering the process of reattaching severed limbs, died Tuesday after falling seven floors while trying to enter his Shanghai apartment through a window.

In 1963, Chen and a team of doctors at the Shanghai No. 6 Hospital successfully reattached the severed right hand of an injured factory worker -- the first operation of its kind, according to Chinese state media.

Chen, a professor at Zhongshan Hospital in Shanghai, was congratulated personally by then-Premier Zhou Enlai. Chen also received the title “father of replantation” by the International Hand Surgery Assn.

Chen developed several techniques for reattaching severed fingers. His standards have been widely accepted by international microsurgery practitioners. The surgeon had been a guest professor at Harvard, New York University and Oxford University.