A Very Handy First Transplant

After an extreme case of gout the lucky Mark Cahill, 51, became the first person in the UK to have a hand transplant.
Doctors at the Leeds General Infirmary report that good progress was made during the eight-hour operation. The pioneering surgery, to which the 51 year-old volunteered after deciding against a bionic hand, mapped nerves to insure hopeful movement and sensation. Progress so far indicates Mr Cahill is able to wiggle his fingers.
The surgery involved the amputating of the donor hand by one of the two surgical teams and the transplanting of the hand by the other.
Professor Simon Kay of Leeds General Infirmary, a consultant plastic surgeon, headed up the surgery noting how it was "extremely challenging".
The difficulty of finding the correct patient participant was finding their physical and psychological eligibility for the surgery. With the possibility of the hand just being a dead weight, the surgical team did not want a reaccurance of a case involving Clint Hallam, a New Zealander who had his transplanted hand removed after he said he felt "mentally detached".
In preparation for the surgery, the surgical team contacted experts from around the world asking for advice. Teams from France, who pioneered the first hand transplant in 1998, were key in this process.
Professor Norman Williams, president of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "This is yet another example of life-changing surgical advancements that are not possible." Later adding "care always ned to be taken in choosing suitable patients who understand the risks and benefits."