Unilateral arm transplant 28 years after amputation: fourteen-month result

Hand transplantation now represents a therapeutic alternative for amputees. Arm transplantation poses a serious challenge regarding many respects of the reconstructive procedure. To the end of 2010, only seven such procedures had been performed in four patients. The goal of this article was to present the preliminary results of an arm transplant in a 30-year-old male patient at 14 months. The patient sustained an amputation at the elbow-joint level as a 2-year-old child. The procedure was performed in October 2010. His postoperative course was complicated by one rejection episode (BANFF grade II), and a de novo cytomegalovirus infection. At this early stage, the patient is doing well regaining function. He can flex at the elbow joint, move his fingers, and experience protective sensitivity reaching the palm. The patient is satisfied with his transplantation.