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Posted on Apr 09, 2003, 5 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
An Austrian man has made medical history by becoming the recipient of the World's first double forearm and hand transplant. Doctors had to amputate both of Franz Jamnig's arms after he was involved in a horrific accident. The 14-hour-long operation was conducted by Dr Hildegunde Piza and colleagues at the University Clinic Innsbruck.
An Austrian man has made medical history by becoming the recipient of the World's first double forearm and hand transplant. Doctors had to amputate both of Franz Jamnig's arms after he was involved in a horrific accident. The 14-hour-long operation was conducted by Dr Hildegunde Piza and colleagues at the University Clinic Innsbruck. The patient is now undergoing extensive physiotherapy, and taking a combination of cortisone and the anti-rejection drug tacrolimus. Piza estimates that the patient will be able to bend his fingers within a year but that it might take longer to regain feeling in his fingertips.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 7th March 2003
