| News From Transplant Week of Feb. 18, 2001 / Vol. 2 No. 7 |
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2nd U.S. Hand Transplant Performed in Louisville |
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A 36-year-old Michigan man has become the nation's second hand transplant recipient following a 13-hour operation at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Jerry Fisher, who lost his left hand at the wrist in 1966 as a result of a fireworks accident, was reported in stable condition following surgery by the same group that performed the nation's first hand transplant on Matthew Scott two years ago. ``The reconstruction on this patient went extremely well,'' said Dr. Warren C. Breidenbach, III, who led the surgical team. ``We anticipate a good result. However, as with any operation of this complexity and investigative nature, the outcome cannot be predicted at this time. We will have a better idea of the long-term outcome in three to six months.'' A hand transplant, unlike a solid organ transplant, involves multiple tissues (skin, muscle, tendon, bone, cartilage, fat, nerves and blood vessels) and is called composite tissue allotransplantation. Breidenback said the surgical team "encountered no unanticipated interoperative problems. The reconstruction was difficult at times because of the extent of damage to the patient's muscle as a result of his initial injury.'' Fisher, a father of three from Jackson, MI, will be hospitalized at Jewish Hospital for the next week to 10 days and then will remain in the Louisville area for three months. A spokesman for Jewish Hospital Barbara Keane Mackovic, said that Scott, the team's first hand transplant recipient, "is doing wonderful. He plays the drum, he can tie his shoes, open doors. He plays with his sons and can pick them up." She told Agence France Presse, however, that the hand transplanted to Scott in late January 1999 was "not 100 percent functional. It's better than a prosthesis but not as good as a normal hand." Other sources: Jewish Hospital, Agence France Presse |
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