‘I need bigger gloves because my thumb is a big toe’

A cobbler who lost his thumb during a work accident replaced his thumb with his toe; However, he said his only problem was needing larger gloves.

While David Lee was cutting the heel of a shoe in his shop in 2019, his sweater got tangled in the machine and pulled his hand away. His thumb got caught in the machine and was cut off.

At the time, Mr Lee, from Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, said his biggest concern was how he would continue to earn a living.

He said: “I immediately realized how bad it was and I was worried I would never be able to repair shoes again. Just thinking about it brought tears to my eyes as I thought I would lose my shop.”

“I was more interested in this than my thumb because this is my passion. It all happened so fast but I felt no pain and immediately turned off all the machines and went out to smoke while waiting for the ambulance!”

After initially attending King’s Mill Hospital in Mansfield, Mr Lee was immediately referred to the Pulvertaft Hand Center at the Royal Derby Hospital; Here he was given the idea that a new “thumb” could be created using one of his big toes.

Five days after the accident, surgeons spent nearly 10 hours completing the complex procedure, which has only been performed a handful of times at the hospital and is only considered for patients with certain types of amputations.

Now in 2026, he was reunited with his surgeon Jill Arrowsmith on BBC Radio Derby on Thursday.

Ms Arrowsmith, one of two consultant hand surgeons who performed the operation, said at the time: “This procedure is only offered to patients who have lost a large amount of their thumb, usually to a point close to the finger joint. The absence of any thumb can be very disabling, especially for those who do manual work.”

“These types of injuries may mean that these patients are unable to remain at work, so we are pleased to be able to offer this treatment option.

“David has worked really hard to recover from his injury and has done incredibly well. He’s the first master cobbler I’ve ever met, so it’s really nice to hear he’s back doing what he loves doing.”

Mr Lee returned to work in his shop and said the toe on his hand was a part of himself. HE he told the BBC: “Maybe people will notice this, [but] So far no one has said anything to me.

“But now I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like, you know what? It’s a part of me and I don’t care.”