Related Experiment Videos
Hand surgery in organ transplant patients
Neil F Jones1, Andrew C Friedman, Kayvan T Khiabani
1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of California-Los Angeles, 200 UCLA Medical Plaza #140, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Purpose:
This study presents a series of organ transplant patients who developed problems that affected their upper extremities, related to the organ transplant operation itself, to the patient's underlying systemic disease, to long-term immunosuppression, or to subsequent hand injury after the organ transplant surgery.
Methods:
A retrospective chart review of 40 organ transplant patients with upper extremity problems at 3 major organ transplant centers was performed.
Results:
Six general problems were identified that affected the hand and upper extremity in these transplant patients: inflammatory conditions (16), nerve compression syndromes (18), infections (6), neoplasms (6), vascular problems (4), and trauma (14). Thirty-eight patients had 72 separate hand procedures. No problems were encountered with postoperative infections, and skin and bony healing occurred uneventfully.
Conclusions:
Organ transplant patients are prone to developing atypical infections, skin malignancies, ischemia, and various nerve compression syndromes that affect the hand. These patients with upper-extremity problems should be treated in a manner similar to any patient without prior organ transplant.