India's first-ever hand transplant successfully conducted in Kerala

In a marathon 16-hour-long surgery, doctors at the Kochi-based Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre successfully conducted India's first hand transplant on Tuesday.

A 30-year-old youth, who had lost both his hands in a train accident, received the hands of a 24-year-old accident victim. Manu, a resident of Thodupuzha, in the Idukki district of Kerala, had lost both of his hands in a train accident a year ago and was waiting for a recipient.

Only around 110 cases of cadaver hand transplant have been documented so far with less than three per cent rejections in the world.

Subramania Iyer, who heads the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Amrita Hospital, said the credit for the transplant should equally go to the family of Binoy from Varapuzha in Ernakulam district, who graciously agreed to donate his limbs. Binoy was brain-dead after a motor-cycle accident.

“Technically, everything went well. It may take another 10-14 days before confirming the acceptance of the limbs by the recipient," Iyer was quoted by the Indian Science Journal, as saying.

He said both the blood group and lymphocyte of the donor and recipient were matching. Unlike re-plantation, where a dismembered limb is surgically restored, in the case of transplant, the limb of a brain-dead person is transplanted on a recipient.

Transplant of hand and upper limb has been accepted as one of the best forms of rehabilitation in patients with loss of hands. They are superior in many respects to prosthodontic rehabilitation

“The success of limb transplant is high, since it is on an exterior part of the body and if there is any indication of rejection, corrective medication can be done, unlike any interior organ,” Iyer said.

Hand transplant is followed by postoperative rehabilitation by physiotherapist and occupational therapist. In about one year of such a transplant, the limb becomes 90 per cent normal, but some small muscles might not become totally functional or total blood circulation might not be normal.

But with regular rehabilitation, in the course of time, the transplanted limb becomes normal like a natural limb. The AIMS has been approved by the government of Kerala and medical directorate to perform hand transplants after inspection of the facilities and ascertaining the expertise. The department is backed by a large and experienced transplant team, social workers and psychologists.

Image: For representation purposes only. Photograph: Reuters