Despite Success, Hand Transplants Not in High Demand

The first and second U.S. hand transplant recipients and their doctors expressed great satisfaction with their progress at their annual checkups at Jewish Hospital in Louisville.

But the doctors, who had expected to perform 5 to 10 hand transplants by now, expressed mild disappointment that Matt Scott and Jerry Fisher remain the only two to have had their prostheses replaced with human hands.

Scott, who became the world's first successful hand transplant recipient on January 24, 1999, said his transplanted left hand has become "a natural part of my everyday life.

"The integration into my daily life is as complete as it can be," he said. "I don't even think much now about what it was like without it."

Fisher, who received his transplant on Feb. 16, 2001, said he was "as pleased as I can possibly be.

"I have come full circle and the rewards are phenomenal. It is very easy for me to forget the time when I did not have a left hand. I am able to do more than I ever could with a hook," Fischer said.

Dr. Darla Granger, lead transplant surgeon, said Scott had three rejection episodes in the first six months after his transplant but has had none in the last 30 months.

Fisher continues to have what doctors described as "mild rejection episodes" that from time to time have caused swelling and a rash on his transplanted hand.

Both men must remain on anti-rejection medication as long as they have the transplants, said Granger, and there is no guarantee the men's bodies won't reject the hands in the future.

Dr. Warren C. Breidenbach III, another transplant surgeon, said he felt concern about the challenges that face a hand transplant recipient was the major reason for the lack of additional candidates these past two years.

"The majority of people don't want a hand transplant. They don't want the risk," he said.

But that certainly did not appear to be the view of either Scott or Fisher.

"I still look at it sometimes and wonder how fabulous it is," said Scott. "The hands are the eyes and window to your soul."