Worlds First Double Hand and Face Transplant
First successful double hand transplant in Paris. Surgeons in Paris have successfully completed the world’s first double hand transplant, as well as partially transplanting the face of a patient.
The miraculous surgery has given the 30-year-old man a new lease of life, after he suffered from a horrific accident in 2004 which severely burned his body. The man, who for five years had remained scarred from his accident, and totally void of a social life was given a new nose, ears, forehead, eyelids and scalp as part of the reconstructive surgery.
The operation took place in Henri Mondor Hospital in Paris. Once the face work was complete, a second team of dozens of medical experts set to work on a double hand transplant including the wrists, which was accomplished by Dr Christian Dumontier. The operation lasted an incredible 30 hours, before the patient was admitted to post-operative intensive care.
The amount of work that was completed on the man set a number of world firsts, including the complete grafting of both upper and lower eyelids. Dr Dumontier said: “We will have to wait and see whether the nerves will grow back and give them mobility,” according to The Times of India.
Head surgeon Laurent Lanteiri confirmed that the operation had been a complete success and that the patient was in a strong and stable condition. “Everything was reconnected – the nerves, tendons, arteries and veins,” he said, in one of the most complete transplant surgeries the world has ever seen.
Doctors praised the family of the organ donor; the family consented to have the organs of their brain dead loved one donated to the hospital earlier this month. The historic face transplant represents only the sixth operation of its kind in the world. Isabelle Dinoire was the first patient ever to receive a partial face transplant after she was ravaged by a dog. Similar procedures have been carried out on a man who suffered facial disfigurement after being shot with a rifle.
Although the operation was a success, the patient will have to spend at least 15 days under the scrutiny of intensive care whilst his body adjusts to the new skin tissue. As with all organ transplants, there is a chance that his body will reject the foreign organs, a problem that has plagued previous recipients.
For now though, the burns victim has been given a fresh chance, the true extent of the success of the operation will be known in a fortnight’s time.
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Image source: REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
