| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | May 13, 2008 |
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Barbara Mackovic or Leslie Dorris |
WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL HAND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT VISITS LOUISVILLE FOR CHECK UP
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY (May 13, 2008) – Matt Scott, the world’s first successful hand transplant recipient, will be in Louisville this week for his yearly check on his transplanted hand. Scott became the nation’s first hand transplant recipient in 1999 when a 17-member surgical team from Kleinert Kutz and Associates, and University of Louisville transplanted a donor left hand during a 14 1/2-hour surgical procedure performed at Jewish Hospital.
“After nine years, I am very happy with the continued success of myself and the other hand transplant recipients, Jerry Fisher and David Savage, said Matt Scott. “Together we have shown that this procedure is justified, viable and should continue worldwide.”
Scott, an instructor at Camden County College in New Jersey, has more than 70 percent usage of his transplanted hand to perform everyday living activities as measured by a standardized test. Being able to function again with two hands was a dream of Scott’s before the hand transplant. He is able to experience hot and cold sensation with sensory function very close to normal. Scott can hold objects (such as a cup of coffee), pick up heavy objects, and embrace with both arms and hands – hand functions that others may take for granted.
There have been a total of 38 hands transplanted on 30 patients around the world. A total of three patients have received new hands in the U.S., including with Scott -- Jerry Fisher in 2001 and David Savage in 2006 -- by the same Kleinert Kutz team of surgeons at Jewish Hospital. Fisher and Savage are both from Michigan. The Division of Transplantation at the University of Louisville, in conjunction with the Kleinert Kutz team, has modernized the treatment and rejection drugs making composite tissue transplants a reality in the U.S.
Warren C. Breidenbach, M.D., who led the team of surgeons that performed all three of the innovative surgeries said, “We continue to monitor each of the patients on a regular basis for signs of rejection, along with a number of other laboratory tests and evaluations as needed. I do not expect any surprises when I see Matt. He has continued to have good results.”
Hand Transplant Program
The hand transplant program was developed by a partnership of physicians and researchers at the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Center, Kleinert Kutz and Associates, Christine M. Kleinert Institute and University of Louisville. The Louisville team is the only group to perform hand transplants in the United States. The pioneering procedure has greatly impacted the future of transplantation and reconstructive surgery as surgeons and researchers look to other procedures to improve the quality of life for patients. Kentuckiana Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) coordinated the donation of the hands for all three recipients.
Patient and physician information, photography and video are available on our web site at www.handtransplant.com and www.jhsmh.org.