Agent Orange and Diabetes
Posted April 11, 2001
Second U.S. Hand Transplant a Success
On February 16, 2001, doctors at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, successfully performed the second hand transplant operation in the U.S. The patient, Jerry
Fisher lost his hand in a 1996 fireworks accident. Since then, he has used a hook to replace his limb.
Fisher received his new hand in a 13-hour operation that took place throughout the night. It took eighteen surgeons and five anesthesiologists to complete the procedure.
Possibility of Rejection
The new hand came from a deceased donor and it is not part of Fisher's original body. Because of this, Fisher must take special drugs that suppress his immune system
for the rest of his life. There is a danger in taking these drugs because they suppress his body's natural defense against disease.
However, if Fisher does not take these drugs, his body may reject his hand. This happens because the body's immune system will sense that the hand is a foreign element
and try to fight it like a disease. The man who received the first hand transplant in the world recently had his new hand amputated because he failed to take his immunosuppressant drugs.
The drug regimen that Fisher must take has been tested on hand-transplant recipients over the last few years. The doctors are very confident that this will allow him
to keep his new hand for the rest of his life. "When compliant with that regimen," says the lead surgeon on the team Darla Granger, "we've had very good results."
Who is eligible?
Because the operation is new and still considered an experimental procedure, doctors screened many different patients. They didn't just look for people with good health
records. They examined the patients' psychology and family life. They wanted to make sure the patient knew the risks as well as the rewards of the procedure.
Most transplant surgeons agree that the procedure is a viable one, but there is still a debate about the ethical nature of the surgery. Some doctors believe it is
not right to transplant non-vital organs or parts onto a body. Because the hand is not required to live it is not considered a vital part.
Hand transplant surgery may lead to new procedures that will allow the reattachments of other limbs.
Activity
Use the Internet sites below to learn more about transplant surgery and what organs and other body parts can be transplanted. Make a scrapbook of Jerry Fisher's
hand transplant and his recovery. Present this scrapbook to your class.
References
|
