Clinical transplantation
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Clinical transplantation · Oct 2003
Case ReportsFirst human double hand transplantation: efficacy of a conventional immunosuppressive protocol.
Based on the results achieved in single human hand transplantations, we decided to perform the first double hand transplantation with a conventional immunosuppressive protocol in a patient with a high potential for functional recovery. Two years after transplantation the efficacy and the safety of this immunosuppressive protocol are evaluated. The recipient was a 33-yr-old man suffering from a traumatic amputation of both hands in 1996. ⋯ No infectious complications and malignancies occurred. No signs of graft-versus-host disease have been detected. This case of double hand transplantation shows that conventional immunosuppression is effective and safe to ensure survival and functional recovery of the grafted limb.