Man’s Hand Cut Off in Robbery Reattached

ST. LOUIS —  Surgeons on Thursday reattached a car salesman’s left hand after it had been chopped off with an ax by a robber at a dealership near Farmington.

Dr. Bruce Kraemer, a surgeon at Barnes Hospital, said Jack Watkins, 34, was in serious but stable condition. He said the operation appeared to be successful, but the next few days would be critical as doctors monitor circulation.

Watkins told police that two men jumped him late Wednesday and bound him with telephone cords and took money kept in an office. When he told them there was no more money, one of the men came back in with an ax and chopped off his hand, a police spokesman said.