23 Feb India’s First Double-Hand Transplant a Success
Indian doctors have just successfully completed the world’s first successful double hand transplant of a coloured skin, and of the first hand transplant in any developing country.
SO far only 110 successful hand transplants have been completed worldwide, with the first in France 13 years ago. Other countries to complete the surgery are the United States, China, Australia and many other European countries.
The transplant, carried out by a team of surgeons at the Kochi-based Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, successfully connected the hands of a 24-year old road accident victim to Manu, a 30-year old victim of a train accident. The operation lasted 16 hours and required more than 20 surgeons, who participated in connecting two bones, two arteries, four veins and about 14 tendons.
Dr. Subramania Iyer, Professor and Head of the Plastic Surgery Department, has since stated that both of the hands have been accepted by the recipient’s body and he has started regaining movements. “This transplant has put the Indian scientific community among the league of a few developed nations in the field of composite tissue allotransplant,” said Dr. Iyer.
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