World's First Hand
Transplant
September 25, 1998
Surgeons
in Lyon, France have carried out the world's first hand transplant.
The hand and forearm came from an anonymous dead donor and
was grafted onto the right arm of 45-year-old Clint Hallam, an Australian whose own hand
was amputated 14 years ago after an accident.
An international team of scientists, headed by Professor Earl
Owen from the Centre for Microsurgery in Sydney and Jean-Michel Dubernard from the Lyon
hospital, were assembled at the Edouard Herriot Hospital in Lyon to perform the procedure,
which lasted more than 13 hours.
A statement from the hospital said all the arteries, veins,
nerves, tendons, muscles and skin of the new hand were attached to the arm, as well as two
bones from the forearm. The bones were joined together first for stability. Then the blood
supply was connected via the major arteries and veins, followed by the tendons, muscles
and nerves. The skin was the last tissue connection.
No details of the donor have been given. In France, according
to a government regulation, everybody is a donor unless they have explicitly opposed to
organ donation.
