Hand transplantation

Breidenbach, Warren C

doi:10.5694/mja13.10637

Unconventional decisions made by the Australian transplant team provided the best overall outcome for their patient

Hand transplantation represents the spearhead of the new field of composite tissue allotransplantation. Since the beginning of time, it has been a medical goal to replace missing tissue with like tissue. The psychological and medical importance of achieving this goal is highlighted by the story of Cosmas and Damian, two 3rd century physician saints who successfully transplanted a leg around the year 1150, long after their deaths.1

University of Arizona Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz, USA.

Correspondence: wbreidenbach@surgery.arizona.edu

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

1. Hamilton D. A history of organ transplantation. Ancient legends to modern practice. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012.
2. Gilbert R. Transplant is successful with a cadaver forearm. Med Trib Med News 1964; 5: 20.
3. Dubernard JM, Owen E, Herzberg G, et al. Human hand allograft: report on first 6 months. Lancet 1999; 353: 1315-1320.
4. Jones JW, Gruber SA, Barker JH, Breidenbach WC. Successful hand transplantation. One-year follow-up. Louisville Hand Transplant Team. N Engl J Med 2000; 343: 468-473.
5. Pei G, Xiang D, Gu L, et al. A report of 15 hand allotransplantations in 12 patients and their outcomes in China. Transplantation 2012; 94: 1052-1059.
6. Petruzzo P, Lanzetta M, Dubernard JM, et al. The International Registry on Hand and Composite Tissue Transplantation. Transplantation 2010; 90: 1590-1594.
7. Dwyer KM, Webb AR, Furniss HS, et al. First hand transplant procedure in Australia: outcome at 2 years. Med J Aust 2013; 199: 285-287.
8. Albert Szent-Gyorgi. In: Good IJ, editor. The scientist speculates: an anthology of partly-baked ideas. London: Heinemann, 1962.

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.