NEW DELHI: Three patients including a teenager successfully underwent hand transplantation surgeries including two bilateral in two different hospitals — Sir Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi and Amrita hospital in Faridabad after the families of brain dead patients agreed to donate the hands along with other organs of their loved ones. All patients are doing well and their hands will be fully functional within 6 months to one year, said doctors.
According to doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a 45-year-old man, a resident of Nangloi, who had lost both his hands at the level of elbow after a tragic train accident in Oct 2020, got a new life after receiving hands from brain dead Meena Mehta (60). The family of Mehta, a retired vice principal of New Greenfield School, Kalkaji, agreed to donate her organs including her hands after she was declared brain dead on Jan 19.
Talking to TOI, Dr Nikhil Jhunjhunwala, Associate Consultant, Hand and Microsurgeon, Dept of Plastic surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, “since the blood group of the recipient and the brain dead donor were the same and immunological crossmatch negative, the bilateral hand transplantation was performed,” he said, adding that the surgery lasted for 12 hours by a team of doctors. While double hand transplants represent a remarkable advancement in the field of transplant surgery, it’s important to note that the procedure is not without challenges.
“Immunosuppressive medications are typically required to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted hands, and the long-term success of the transplant depends on various factors, including the recipient’s commitment to postoperative care and rehabilitation,” he said.
Doctors at Amrita Hospital said that 64-year-old Gautam Tayal from Delhi, who had undergone a kidney transplant 10 years ago and had lost his left hand just above the wrist in an industrial accident in a factory two years ago has successfully undergone unilateral hand transplantation surgery. Devansh Gupta (19) who lost both upper limbs and the right lower limb above the knee in a train accident three years ago, successfully underwent a bilateral hand transplantation surgery
Both surgeries were conducted in the last week of December 2023. Tayal received a hand from a 40-year-old man, who was declared brain dead following a head injury. The donated hand was flown from Thane, near Mumbai, to Faridabad, where the doctors immediately started the procedure to transplant the hand.
Dr Mohit Sharma, Professor & Head, Centre for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad said, “to achieve union of the two hands, we had to join two bones, two arteries, 25 tendons and 5 nerves. The patient is already able to use his transplanted hand for doing day-to-day chores. He will be discharged within a week.”
The teenager received two hands from a 33-year-old man from Surat who was declared brain dead due to a chronic and fatal lung condition. The hands were flown to Faridabad from Surat in a complex logistical operation.
Dr Sharma said that so far, the patient’s progress has been excellent. “He needs to take immunosuppression drugs lifelong so that the new hands are not rejected by his body. It will take him anywhere between 6 to 18 months to regain enough function in his new hands to do day-to-day activities. He also needs to undergo intensive physiotherapy including muscle stretching for another year,” he said.
According to doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a 45-year-old man, a resident of Nangloi, who had lost both his hands at the level of elbow after a tragic train accident in Oct 2020, got a new life after receiving hands from brain dead Meena Mehta (60). The family of Mehta, a retired vice principal of New Greenfield School, Kalkaji, agreed to donate her organs including her hands after she was declared brain dead on Jan 19.
Talking to TOI, Dr Nikhil Jhunjhunwala, Associate Consultant, Hand and Microsurgeon, Dept of Plastic surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said, “since the blood group of the recipient and the brain dead donor were the same and immunological crossmatch negative, the bilateral hand transplantation was performed,” he said, adding that the surgery lasted for 12 hours by a team of doctors. While double hand transplants represent a remarkable advancement in the field of transplant surgery, it’s important to note that the procedure is not without challenges.
“Immunosuppressive medications are typically required to prevent the body from rejecting the transplanted hands, and the long-term success of the transplant depends on various factors, including the recipient’s commitment to postoperative care and rehabilitation,” he said.
Doctors at Amrita Hospital said that 64-year-old Gautam Tayal from Delhi, who had undergone a kidney transplant 10 years ago and had lost his left hand just above the wrist in an industrial accident in a factory two years ago has successfully undergone unilateral hand transplantation surgery. Devansh Gupta (19) who lost both upper limbs and the right lower limb above the knee in a train accident three years ago, successfully underwent a bilateral hand transplantation surgery
Both surgeries were conducted in the last week of December 2023. Tayal received a hand from a 40-year-old man, who was declared brain dead following a head injury. The donated hand was flown from Thane, near Mumbai, to Faridabad, where the doctors immediately started the procedure to transplant the hand.
Dr Mohit Sharma, Professor & Head, Centre for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad said, “to achieve union of the two hands, we had to join two bones, two arteries, 25 tendons and 5 nerves. The patient is already able to use his transplanted hand for doing day-to-day chores. He will be discharged within a week.”
The teenager received two hands from a 33-year-old man from Surat who was declared brain dead due to a chronic and fatal lung condition. The hands were flown to Faridabad from Surat in a complex logistical operation.
Dr Sharma said that so far, the patient’s progress has been excellent. “He needs to take immunosuppression drugs lifelong so that the new hands are not rejected by his body. It will take him anywhere between 6 to 18 months to regain enough function in his new hands to do day-to-day activities. He also needs to undergo intensive physiotherapy including muscle stretching for another year,” he said.
