Gleneagles HealthCity performs hand transplants on two patients in two weeks

Gleneagles HealthCity performs successful hand transplants on two patients, marking a historic achievement in medical field.

Two persons, who had lost their hands in accidents, recently underwent hand transplantation at Gleneagles HealthCity.

R. Karthick, a real estate consultant in the city, lost both his hands a year ago, when fireworks at a funeral irreparably damaged them. Hospitals where he sought treatment recommended amputation. At Gleneagles, Mr. Karthick, now a 31-year-old, received a new pair of hands from a person who was declared brain dead following a road accident. The surgery was performed on April 21.

M. Buvan, 22, from Thanjavur, lost his right hand while operating a machine, and became the recipient of a hand from a woman donor on May 2. The donor was declared brain dead due to brain haemorrhage.

Selva Seetha Raman, head and senior consultant, who led the surgical team, said the bilateral hand transplant was a huge challenge as Mr. Karthick’s hands had been amputated. “It took nearly 20 hours to reconstruct his hands. The donor’s hands were flown in from Tiruchi and we received it on time,” he said. A team of 18 doctors, including plastic surgeons, orthopaedics, anaesthetists, nephrologists, and intensivists, operated on Mr. Karthick.

For Mr. Buvan, the challenge was the gender of the donor, who hailed from Erode. “Although the number of hours spent on surgery was comparably less than that of Mr. Karthick, the team of 16 specialists successfully completed the procedure,” he said.

While Mr. Karthick was discharged last week, Mr. Buvan will be discharged next week, Dr. Selva Seetha Raman added.

Hospital CEO K. Nagesh Rao thanked the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu to facilitate the hospital to perform two hand transplants in two consecutive weeks.