Baltimore boy gets a first double hand transplant

[halik]

Pretty awesome story
http://m.nydailynews.com/news/natio...teral-hand-transplant-child-article-1.2307091

 

[Kaido]

When the surgery finally took place they then connected his forearm's bones to the donor's with steel plates and screws.

The arteries and veins were then joined before blood was permitted to flow. Each muscle and tendon was then rejoined followed by the nerves.

Dr. L. Scott Levin, director of the Hand Transplantation Program at the children's hospital, recalled watching Zion's new hand turn pink from the successful blood flow.

"That hand was now alive," he told NBC. "That became, instantly, part of Zion's circulation, no different than my hand or your hand."

Woooooooooooooow. What an enormous quality of life improvement for that kid!

 

[Murloc]

it's amazing that they can attach the nerves.

I wonder how it feels. Ghost limbs sound pretty weird already.

Also will it grow normally along with the rest of the body?

 

[preCRT]

Hope he continues to heal, this is miraculous surgery.

Thankful that a family donated to help this boy despite the devastating loss of their own child.

 

[KeithTalent]

KT

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Yeah I'm interested to learn how they connected the nerves. Sounds like it might be useful for folks with spinal cord/nerve injuries.

 

[SP33Demon]

How long until they know if the body will reject it? Are they past that stage yet?

 

[SP33Demon]

KT

I see you gave him a hand for his bravery.

 

[JackBurton]

Will his hand grow at the same rate as the rest of his body?

 

[KeithTalent]

I see you gave him a hand for his bravery.

Two hands!

KT

 

[manimal]

Ive got hand


/constanza


I wonder what they did with the old ones

 

[dave_the_nerd]

How long until they know if the body will reject it? Are they past that stage yet?

I have read that transplant patients like his are usually on immunosuppressant meds forever.

 

[Brainonska511]

I have read that transplant patients like his are usually on immunosuppressant meds forever.

And he was already on them. He previously received a kidney from his mother, which is why he was an excellent candidate for this surgery - they could piggyback off the immunosuppressant drugs he was already going to be on for life.

 

[Slew Foot]

it's amazing that they can attach the nerves.

I wonder how it feels. Ghost limbs sound pretty weird already.

Also will it grow normally along with the rest of the body?

periphera nerves are about 1-2 mm in diameter, they can be identifed and sewn back together with small sutures. takes a while for them to become functional again.

 

[Jaskalas]

A kid? Let's hope growing doesn't harm the transplant.

 

[purbeast0]

wow what an awesome story, good for the kid.

 

[lupi]

Think finding a way to ween a patient ike this off of the lifetime of immune suppressant pills would be a good breakthrough.

 

[TechBoyJK]

KT

Heh.

I was expecting his clapping hands to fall off.

 

[shortylickens]

Having someone elses parts, that has got to be the strangest sensation ever.

 

[gophertron]

A kid? Let's hope growing doesn't harm the transplant.

Yeah I'm curious how it works as he grows - will the hands grow too?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah I'm curious how it works as he grows - will the hands grow too?

They should - he's 8 years old now, so are the hands, and he's going to be pumping them full of growth hormones in a few years. Yay puberty!

 

[HumblePie]

They should - he's 8 years old now, so are the hands, and he's going to be pumping them full of growth hormones in a few years. Yay puberty!

But they are anchored with steel not tendons... wonder how that is going to work.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

But they are anchored with steel not tendons... wonder how that is going to work.

I'd assume the bones would eventually grow together just like the skin.

Heck, sterilized coral is used to replace missing chunks of bone - the bone eventually grows into, absorbs and replaces the coral.

 

[Rakehellion]

A kid? Let's hope growing doesn't harm the transplant.

It'll probably be even better for the transplant since his body isn't fully developed.

 

[destrekor]

But they are anchored with steel not tendons... wonder how that is going to work.

The bones are anchored with steel. They stitched all of the tendons together, which is a critical part to even having a surgery for transplanted hands, else the hands are useless.

I am curious to know if the bone gap will fill in like a fracture and all the connections will slowly mesh to become like normal connections, even though they were not his own. That's precisely how organ transplants work, the body ultimately grows into them and fully integrate, with the help of meds of course. But I haven't paid attention to how transplants work with limbs or other bone-to-bone attachments with foreign bone. I am assuming that, since they considered this situation in the first place, that once integrated into the full biological processes of the body, that the new tissues will grow at the same rate as the original tissues, including bones, tendons, nerves, etc.