Amrita Hospital doctors perform hand transplantation on 64-year-old man with kidney transplant

Faridabad: Two male patients, one of them 64-year-old and the other 19 years of age, have successfully undergone hand-transplantation at a hospital in Faridabad.

"This is the first time that such a procedure has been conducted in North India. Significantly, this is also the first time in India (and only the second such case in the world) where a kidney-transplant recipient has received a hand transplant. 

Gautam Tayal, the 64-year-old patient hailing from Delhi had undergone a kidney transplant 10 years ago, due to which he was already on immunosuppressants.

About two years ago, he lost his left hand just above the wrist in an industrial accident in a factory. The hand that he received in transplant belonged to a 40-year-old man who was declared brain dead following a head injury, the release said. The deceased man's family generously agreed to donate his various organs, including his hands, immediately following his death. The donated hand was flown from Thane, near Mumbai, to Faridabad, where the doctors immediately started the procedure to transplant the hand, the release added.

Dr Mohit Sharma, Professor and Head, Centre for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the hospital said that it is very rare and exciting feat in medical science.

"To achieve union of the two hands, we had to join two bones, two arteries, 25 tendons and 5 nerves. The patient is doing well in the post-operative period and his hand movements are in recovery. He will be discharged within a week."

The second hand transplantation at the hospital was conducted on a 19-year-old youth, Devansh Gupta, hailing from Delhi.

"He lost both upper limbs (hands) and the right lower limb above the knee in a train accident three years ago. The two hands he received in transplantation belonged to 33-year-old man from Surat who was declared brain dead due to a chronic and fatal lung condition. His family readily agreed to donate his various organs, including his hands, immediately following his death, and that is when Devansh's prayers for a new pair of hands were answered. The hands were flown to Faridabad from Surat in a complex logistical operation," the release said.

Dr Anil Murarka, Senior Consultant, Centre for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, at the hospital said the patient's right limb was transplanted at the upper arm level and the left limb just above the elbow level.

The release said that the success of this complex operation was attributed to the concerted efforts of a multidisciplinary team.