Teen whose arm was severed by rock in Laguna Beach is released from hospital after doctors reattach it

A teenage boy whose right arm was severed when a rock fell on him in Laguna Beach last month was released from UC Irvine Medical Center on Thursday, about three weeks after doctors reattached the limb.

The 15-year-old, who authorities and hospital officials have not publicly identified, was rescued from Emerald Bay at about 3:20 p.m. July 18 after a boulder the size of a cooler fell on him. He had been walking along the rocks about 100 feet down a cliff near the ocean with a friend, Orange County Fire Authority officials said at the time.

Trauma, vascular, orthopedic, plastic surgery and anesthesiology specialists at UCI Medical Center spent more than seven hours reattaching his arm that night, according to officials at the hospital in Orange.

“They reattached the muscle and essentially created new bone and rebuilt the arteries and nerves. It’s truly incredible,” said UCI Health spokesman John Murray.

The boy has undergone six additional operations during his stay at the hospital, officials said.

Hospital officials declined to comment on the boy’s long-term prognosis.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN