Man born without a hand finally gets one after 32 years (photo)

A man born without a hand has been given one from a deceased donor in what surgeons claim is a world first, Daily Mail reports.

The 32-year-old, who has spent his life without his left hand, underwent a 13-hour procedure last week to have the new limb attached.
Despite currently only having the ability to move his fingers, doctors are optimistic Piotr will gain more mobility over time.
Adam Domanasiewicz, who headed the operation at Wroclaw Medical University, Poland, said: ‘It is the first graft in the world of an upper limb onto an adult with this congenital defect.
‘We are talking about a man who lived 32 years without this member.
‘This is an important breakthrough in neurophysiology and the practice of transplants because up to now it was thought that – in the case of this type of congenital defect – such grafts could not be done.’
The operation could open up new possibilities to hundreds of thousands of people in the world born without members whose only option to date has been prostheses, he added.
Adam Domanasiewicz who led the operation
Up to now, a similar procedure had been performed only on newborn conjoined twins in Indonesia and Canada.
Hands have also been grafted onto patients whose own limbs were amputated.
Around 80 hand transplants have been performed worldwide, offering patients the chance to touch and feel again.
After successful operations, with time and expert after care, the donor hand will move with strength and dexterity.
It will even feel warm to touch and heal itself when injured – but the operation is a long and complex one.
During the six to 12-hour procedure, teams of surgeons work to remove the donor hand while separate teams work on the recipient.
Bones are joined with titanium plates and screws. Just as with a typical broken bone, they should eventually heal together, but the plates remain in place to ensure stability.
Surgeons then connect key tendons and muscles, before blood vessels are connected.
Once blood is circulating, remaining nerves, tendons and muscles are attached – as the feeling in the hand should then come back.

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