Former chiropractor, Dr. Richard Edwards lost use of both of his hands in 2006 when his truck caught fire. He also suffered severe burns to the face, back, arms and hands.
On August 24, Edwards got new hands in a operation performed by a surgeons at the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center. The team of surgeons from the University of Louisville and Kleinert Kutz and Associates merged for Edwards’s surgery. The procedure lasted 17 ½ hours.
The muscle and bone of his old hands were removed, but the nerves were retained and placed inside of his new transplant hands. He lost seven fingers in the accident and retained most of his original hands, but they were badly burned.
First in hand transplant
This is the first time in the history of hand transplant surgery that old tissue was allowed to remain. Edwards has been prescribed anti-rejection drugs which he will take everyday for as long as he lives.
Edwards double hand transplant in the third in the nation. 5 hand transplants have been performed at the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center.
Edwards began balling his hand and making a fist one week after his surgery, a result doctors expect six months after surgery.
Edwards says he is “very grateful to the donor” family and hopes to go back to work as a chiropractor. He says his favorite sense is the sense of touch and looks forward to holding his wife’s hand again.
In all, 20 surgeons worked 17 hours in different shifts to transplant both hands.
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