In a miraculous development, a 45-year-old man has got another chance to live a normal life after a successful bilateral hand transplant at a private hospital in the national capital. The man had lost both of his hands after being run over by a train.
The patient will be discharged from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Thursday after spending nearly six weeks in the hospital.
Raj Kumar, a resident of Nangloi and a painter by profession, was crossing the railway track near his house on his bicycle when he lost control of it and fell on the tracks and came under a train, according to the doctors at the hospital.
He lost his upper limbs in the accident. Kumar became dependent on others for his day-to-day activities, said Dr Mahesh Mangal, chairman of the Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery at the medical facility as quoted by PTI.
Kumar’s only options were either the use of prosthetics or a hand transplant. He began using prosthetics but his prosthetic trail was unsuccessful and his only hope was a hand transplant, he said as quoted by PTI.
But at that time, no centre in north India had permission to perform a hand transplant.
In February last year, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, became the first hospital in north India to receive permission to perform hand transplant.
“When we were looking for potential candidates for hand transplant, Kumar was on our waiting list. As per transplant protocols, detailed examination and necessary investigations were done. In third week of January, a glimmer of optimism emerged for Raj Kumar when he got a call from the hospital,” the doctor said as quoted by PTI.
The family members of a retired vice-principal of a school in Delhi expressed their wish to donate her organs after her death.
On January 19, a team of surgeons collaborated to execute the intricate procedure, delicately reattaching various components – bones, arteries, veins, tendons, muscles, nerves, and skin. Precision and expertise were the key, to ensure the seamless integration of the transplanted hands into Raj Kumar’s body, Mangal said as quoted by PTI.
