WORLD’S FIRST SUCCESSFUL HAND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT
REACHES HISTORIC FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

LOUISVILLE, KY – Matt Scott, the world’s first successful hand transplant recipient, will reach a major milestone this month when he celebrates the five-year anniversary of undergoing the innovative transplant procedure. Scott is scheduled to be in Louisville for his yearly check-up January 22-23. Scott received his new left hand during a 14 ½-hour surgical procedure performed at Jewish Hospital by a 17-member surgical team from Kleinert Kutz Hand Care Center and University of Louisville.

Scott will attend a press briefing scheduled for January 23rd at 2 p.m. (EST) at Jewish Hospital’s Heart and Lung Center, Conference Center (16th floor), 201 Abraham Flexner Way. The briefing will be held to give an update on Scott’s progress by lead hand surgeon Warren C. Breidenbach, M.D., Kleinert Kutz Hand Care Center, and transplant surgeon Frederick R. Bentley, M.D., University of Louisville. Scott will be available to answer questions from the media. He will be joined by his wife Dawn and two young sons, Ian and Jeremy.

The press briefing will be immediately followed by a five-year anniversary party with Scott, his family and hand transplant team members. The media are welcome to attend.

Scott became the nation’s first hand transplant recipient (now the world’s first successful) on January 24, 1999. Scott’s hand transplant is one of the 24 hands transplanted on 18 patients around the world including France, Brussels, Italy, Austria and China.

Scott, a New Jersey native, age 42, is an instructor at Camden County College. He can use his new hand for everyday living activities including picking up his two sons, opening a car door, turning doorknobs, drinking from a glass, dialing a cell phone, writing his name and tying his shoes. Scott also has hot and cold sensation in the hand. He lost his dominant left hand on December 23, 1985 in a blast from an M80 firecracker accident.

Hand Transplant Program
The hand transplant program was developed by a partnership of physicians and researchers at Jewish Hospital, the University of Louisville and Kleinert Kutz Hand Care Center. A second hand transplant was performed by the team on Jerry Fisher, a Michigan native, on February 18, 2001. The Louisville team is the only group in the United States who have performed hand transplants. The pioneering procedure is expected to greatly impact the future of transplantation and reconstructive surgery. Together, the partnership has supported the research initiatives of this innovative procedure along with other procedures to improve the quality of life for patients.