Wednesday October 8, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- The
German farmer who received the world's first double arm transplant said
Wednesday he had been recovering well after the 15-hour operation.
The 54-year-old man called Karl Merk lost his arms in a
farming accident six year ago and he received the transplant at the Munich
University Clinic on July 25 to 26.
It took a total 15 hours for a total of 40 surgeons, anesthesiologists,
nurses and other surgery supporting staff to graft the arms from a donor on to
the body of Merk.
The donor arms came from an unnamed teenager, who is believed to have died in a car accident.
Right now, the man is able to use the arms to perform
simple tasks like opening doors and turning lights on and off.
He said his ultimate goal is to use the new
hands to eat and dress himself and if possible ride a motorcycle.
But doctors said it would take up to two years for him to
relearn how to use the arms or to know how much he could benefit from them.
Merk still needs to go through a six-week intensive
program to get the arms to become fully functional.
There is some concern that Merk's immune system may
reject the new body parts. But so far his doctor said there had been no sign to
indicate the arms would be rejected.
It seems that doctors did not give
Merk "the immuno-suppressant drugs. So the risk of there being a
Graft-versus-Host Reaction
or GvHR would have been significant due to the upper arm containing a
large amount of bone marrow, consisting of ICC's or Immuno-Competent
Cells, which would have triggered a near total rejection of the new
limbs", according to wikipedia.
Disclaimer: What's published on this website should be considered opinions of respective writers only and foodconsumer.org which has no political agenda nor commercial ambition may or may not endorse any opinion of any writer. No accuracy is guaranteed although writers are doing their best to provide accurate information only.
The information on this website should not be construed as medical advice and should not be used to replace professional services provided by qualified or licensed health care workers. The site serves only as a platform for writers and readers to share knowledge, experience, and information from the scientific community, organizations, government agencies and individuals.
Foodconsumer.org encourages readers who have had medical conditions to consult with licensed health care providers - conventional and or alternative medical practitioners.
