Hand transplantation is a surgical procedure that transplants a hand from a donor, usually one who has been declared brain-dead, to a recipient who has lost a hand through amputation. Most hand transplants performed to date have involved below-elbow amputees, though transplants above the elbow are becoming more common. The procedure was the first of a new category of transplant in which multiple types of tissue are transplanted together as a single functional unit, a category now termed vascularized composite allotransplantation.
Facts
Origin YearSourced to the subject's own account Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_transplantation, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_transplantation, lead section
Hand transplantation, or simply hand transplant, is a surgical procedure to transplant a hand from one human to another.
2. Hand Transplantation (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory section, 23 September 1998 hand transplant subsectionQuote, History section, 23 September 1998 hand transplant subsection
The operation was performed on 23 September 1998, in Lyon, France, by a team assembled from different countries around the world led by French Professor Jean-Michel Dubernard, including Professor Nadey Hakim, from the UK.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a hand transplant and how long does the operation take?
Transplanting a hand from a donor to an amputee; typically 8 to 12 hours.
Hand transplantation is a surgical procedure to transplant a hand from one human to another. The donor hand, usually from a brain-dead donor, is transplanted to a recipient amputee. The operation is extensive, and typically lasts from 8 to 12 hours. Surgeons usually connect the bones first, followed by tendons, arteries, nerves, veins, and skin.
Why must hand transplant recipients take immunosuppressive drugs?
To minimize rejection, at the cost of a weaker immune system.
For a hand transplant to succeed, the recipient is required to take immunosuppressive drugs, as in other organ transplants such as kidney or liver, to minimize rejection, or risk destruction of the hand by the recipient's natural immune system. These drugs risk weakening the recipient's immune system, which may increase the risk of infections and some cancers. This record describes what the sources state and is not medical advice.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.