Global Hospitals, a multi super specialty tertiary care hospital in Mumbai, has received license to perform hand transplantation, a life changing surgical procedure to transplant one or both hands from a brain-dead patient to the one who is in a need of a limb.
The hospital opens door for potential recipients who are suitable to undergo the transplant. The constantly improving safety, efficacy, and applicability of these promising reconstructive modalities hold great promise for patients with devastating injuries or deformities that are not amenable to conventional methods of repair.
Manpreet Sohal, CEO, Global Hospitals, says, “We are glad to be fast emerging as the leading transplant centre in Mumbai and Western India. Today we are on the verge of a new era in upper limb transplantation with some of the most innovative procedures and protocols followed in our clinical care. We ensure that with our large team of specialists supported by world class infrastructure and technologies we are able to deliver exceptional patient care.”
Dr. Nilesh G Satbhai, consultant plastic, aesthetic, hand & reconstructive microsurgeon, Global Hospitals, says, “Hand transplantation today is a valuable treatment option for the many patients suffering from complex tissue injuries or defects where conventional reconstruction is not feasible. Global Hospital is widely experienced in management of transplant patients, immunosuppression and treatment of graft rejections. We aim to deliver the best service to the society and the country, and maintain highest ethical standards, through our hand transplant centre.”
“Hand transplant is a complex procedure requiring highly specialized surgeons, trained in hand and reconstructive microsurgery. The average operating time for single hand transplant is 8-10 hours and double hand transplant is 15-18 hours. Pre-operative matching of the donor and recipient is performed to judge the compatibility for transplantation. Just before the surgery, the recipient is started with immunosuppressive medications to avoid rejection of the transplanted part. Surgery consists of harvesting the hands from the brain-dead donor. The donor is fitted with an artificial (prosthetic) hand to avoid social and psychological issues related to the visible mutilation. The donor hand is then attached to the recipient stump part by part. Bones are fixed first followed by repair of the major blood vessels, tendons, nerves and the skin”, explained Dr. Nilesh G Satbhai.
Reconstructive transplantation has become a clinical reality over the past two decades with close to 90 upper limb (single and double hand) transplants performed till date around the world with highly encouraging graft survival and good to excellent functional outcomes. The ‘life-enhancing’ effect of such transplants has been proven by several studies and quality of life parameters.