Lyon - A French specialist heading an international team of surgeons has carried out the world's first double hand transplant, officials at the Edouard-Herriot hospital in Lyons revealed yesterday. Dr Jean-Michel Dubernard, who pioneered the technique with the first single hand transplant in 1998, led a team of 50 in the 17-hour operation.
The recipient was an unnamed 33-year-old French man who had both hands amputated in 1996 after a firework explosion. He was given the hands and a small part of the forearms of a donor. "The operation went well. But it is too early to say whether it is a success. In the early days they will be monitoring for any sign of rejection," a spokeswoman said.
A communique said the patient and the new hands were stable. In the highly complex operation, surgeons first pinned together the bones, then set about the meticulous task of fusing together tendons, skin, arteries and nerves.