AN INDIAN painter who lost both his arms in a tragic train accident has undergone an incredible limb transplant surgery.
Raj Kumar, 45, received a new set of hands donated by a woman who had pledged her organs to be used following her death.
SWNSA picture of Raj Kumar shortly before the surgery[/caption]
SWNSPost-surgery picture showing the new limbs seamlessly integrated into Kumar’s body[/caption]
In 2020, Kumar was crossing a railway track on his bike when he lost control and fell before getting run over by the train and losing both his hands.
Experts thought the painter would have to use prosthetics for the rest of his life, but his trial was unsuccessful.
An ambitious double limb transplant remained Kumar’s only hope.
Kumar received the two limbs as a donation from Meena Mehta, a former school head from New Delhi who was declared brain-dead.
He underwent a bilateral hand transplant surgery by a team of 11 doctors headed by Dr Mahesh Mangal, Chairman, the Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, and Dr Swaroop Singh Gambhir, Senior Consultant, Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery.
The surgery took place in the renowned Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.
The intricate, highly complex 12-hour procedure involved the reattachment of every component of a human hand, including bones, arteries, veins, tendons, muscles, nerves, and skin.
“Once we selected the patient, and did the blood match we got to know he was the fit candidate for the patient,” Dr Gambhir told The Indian Express.
“We took the hands and we fixed the bones first with plates and screws and we fixed the muscles and then artery and the nerve.”
Dr Gambhir added that precision, expertise and experience were key to ensuring the seamless integration of the transplanted hands into the patient’s body.
Kumar, who is understood to have undergone the surgery six weeks ago, has recovered well from the procedure – and is expected to be discharged from the hospital today.
SWNSThe team of doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital posing with Kumar after the successful transplant[/caption]