Follow-Up to Hand Transplantation
The United States' first successful hand transplant recipient Matthew Scott demonstrates function in his new hand for lead hand transplant surgeon Warren C. Breidenbach, M.D., Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center, PLLC. Scott visited Jewish Hospital for his three year check up February 22, 2001.
(Photo and caption courtesy of Jewish Hospital; Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center; and University of Louisville [caption: www.handtransplant.org])
The success of a hand transplantation procedure depends as much on the extensive care given to the patient following the operation as it does on the procedure itself. Rigid drug therapy, physical therapy, psychological therapy, and routine testing must be done in order to insure the survival of the transplanted hand. Some of these therapies must endure for the life of the graft.
How Useful Will the New Hand Be?
Sources
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