A grandfather in Texas will soon regain function of his hand after doctors cautiously sewed it to his abdomen in an unusual tummy tuck surgery. Casey Reyes, 87, of the Houston area, was rushed to Houston Methodist Hospital where doctors performed the "sci-fi" surgery after he almost lost his hand changing a tire on a trailer.

Prior to undergoing the surgery, medics resorted to conventional methods to save his hand, and even considered amputating the damaged limb. Reyes, who has hearing difficulties, was told by his granddaughter Casey Reyes about the surgery the doctors were planning. “They're gonna [sic] put your hand inside your stomach, kind of like a hoodie,” she said, according to the Associated Press. “I thought it was more or less something out of a sci-fi movie. It sounded crazy. He looked at me kind of funny, but agreed.”

He agreed to the tummy tuck and spent three weeks with his left hand tucked inside a pocket of tissue in his belly. This was meant to give the burned hand time to heal and form a new blood supply. Afterward, doctors were able to cut his hand free of his stomach, and shape some of his abdominal tissue and skin to cover it.

“It’s a funny feeling,” Reyes said in an interview while his hand was still attached to his belly. “Anything to get me well.”

Surgeries like Reyes' are not new. According to doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital, the technique used on Reyes is normally employed on the battlefield or in serious trauma situations. This radical skin graft technique made the difference for Reyes, who otherwise would have had his hand amputated.

Reyes almost lost his hand after trying to change a wheel on his trailer, which slipped off the jack and crushed his hand. He had to wait more than an hour for help to arrive, which gave the super-heated metal time to “cook” his hand, burning through his heavy glove.

Although the surgery was scary, Reyes looks forward to regaining function of his hand for several reasons. “As soon as I'm well enough to drive I want to take a little trip. The main thing I want to do is raise cattle, ride horses. I'm an outdoors person.”