The web has lots of information about the unique structure of the petiole, but nothing about survivability following damage.

I figured I'd put a couple pics of the situation.

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You did good but you wont loose the whole tuber. The top may die but then the plant will start to go dormant again and re absorb nutrients from the petiole. Give it a high phosphorous fertilizer now and especially while it is going dormant.

Thanks for the input ironios. Between the varmits and the weather my garden has been taking a beating. Yesterday it looked like a stray cat had been chasing a squirel around my potted plants.

One of mine broke off last year but after everything died back it sent up another leaf. Mine are just coming up. Only a couple have leafed out completely. Even the ones that stay year round in the garden are just starting to sprout. And only 1 bloom from any of them this year. We sure need rain. Have ya'll had any from these little storms? We've been about 71 days with no rain on my part of the island.
Tally HO!

Yeah we've been getting some rain, but are still behind. 2 weeks after the petiole was damaged the stalk is making a remarkable recovery. Never give up. These guys are most resilient.

a href="http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/HoustonPat/?action=view&current=amorphophalusrecovery.jpg"; target="_blank">{{gwi:386700}}

So how is your plant doing now, one month later?