One year after the world's first modern hand transplant, the new right hand of recipient Clint Hallam of Australia has increasingly gained function, according to a September 21 article in the New York Times.
Author Lawrence K. Altman reported that substantial nerve regeneration has occurred and that more is expected; the hand has developed about 25% of normal grip strength and has good pinch grip between the index finger and thumb; sensation reached the fingertips eight months after the operation and continues to improve; and the hand has settled into a normal position. The operation was performed on Sept. 23, 1998, in France, but follow-up has been sporadic because Mr. Hallam reportedly misses his appointments with doctors often. The newspaper reported that the team that transplanted the hand, led by Dr. Earl Owen of Sydney, plans to carry out four more hand transplants.
At age seven, Laura Guzman of Chicago became the Chicago area's youngest double lung transplant recipient on August 9, which also marked the first double lung transplant at Children's Memorial Hospital. "The transplant team at Children's Memorial began the lung transplantation program for our area pediatric patients who previously had to travel out of the area for therapy," said Constantine Mavroudis, MD, head of the lung transplantation program. Laura developed acute myelocytic leukemia at age one and, afterward, developed bronchiectesis. She has had a tracheostomy most of her life. Laura was released from the hospital about a month after surgery, Children's Memorial reported on September 14.
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