Doctors at Gleneagles Global Health City in Chennai, successfully performed a life-changing bilateral hand transplant (below elbow) for a 24-year-old man hailing from Kancheepuram for whom the hand was air transported from Ahmedabad.
The uneventful procedure was performed on May 28, 2022, and has been 60 successful days since the transplant. The patient is doing well and is on a road to recovery with intensive physiotherapy, according to a statement from the hospital.
The team of doctors from Gleneagles Global Health City was honoured by M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India.
The young man from Kancheepuram had lost both hands due to high voltage electrical burns in 2018 and required his mother's support for routine chores.
He had registered himself with the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN) for a hand transplant. Living with this disability for over three years. On May 28, 2022 the hospital received an alert from the NOTTA and TRANSTAN about a prospective hand donor from Ahmedabad. With the support, swift action, and timely clearances of NOTTA, the respective state governments, TRANSTAN, and DMS, the hand was flown from Ahmedabad to Chennai, covering 1800 KM, and brought to Gleneagles Global Health City, the hospital said in a statement.
The patient was wheeled in for a 14-hour marathon procedure, and the hospitals expert specialists performed the transplant successfully. Dr S. Selva Seetha Raman (Director and Senior Consultant – Institute of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery), 8 plastic surgeons, 4 orthopedicians, a vascular surgeon, 4 anaesthetists, a nephrologist (transplant immunology), and 30 paramedical personnel comprised the team.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said, "It gives me a sense of pride that the country is blessed with such remarkable and dedicated Doctors across states.
This case is a great example to motivate people to step forward and donate organs, especially hands of brain-dead patients, and provide a good quality of life to the disabled, he added.
Elaborating the case, Dr S. Selva SeethaRaman, HOD and Senior Consultant – Institute of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, said, "Handling a case of hand transplants requires the highest levels of precision and medical expertise. With this case, we are happy to have recorded this rare feat of bilateral below elbow hand transplant in the state of Tamil Nadu. The state of Tamil Nadu has been a forerunner for organ transplants in India. I want to thank the Government departments for the excellent coordination and support in achieving this milestone."
Congratulating the team on the success, Dr Alok Khullar, CEO, Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai said, "We are extremely proud of our multi-disciplinary team led by the Plastic Surgery Department for performing this life-changing procedure.
