U.S' HAND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT TO BE FEATURED ON THE LEARNING CHANNEL

Patient received new hand at Jewish Hospital in 2001

LOUISVILLE, KY - Jerry Fisher, the second man in the U.S. to receive a successful hand transplant will be featured on The Learning Channel's premiere of "Saving Life and Limb" on Monday, July 21 at 9 p.m. The Fisher story will be one of five during the first episode of the one-hour program "Severed Limbs" and will re-air again on July 26 at 4 p.m. at midnight.

The 38-year-old Jackson, Michigan resident received his new hand following a 13-hour surgical procedure, February 16-17, 2001 at Jewish Hospital. An 18-member hand surgical team led by Warren C. Breidenbach, III, M.D. from Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center, PLLC and the University of Louisville, along with a five-member Anesthesiology Associates team performed the surgery. The group of surgeons also performed the world's first successful hand transplant on Matthew Scott on January 24, 1999. Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, an organ procurement organization, coordinated the donation of the hands for both recipients.

Fisher's and Scott's hand transplants are two of the twenty-two hands transplanted on seventeen patients around the world. Both men were in Louisville on February 14, 2003 for their yearly check-ups. The Louisville team's patients continue to make medical history.

Both patients are able to move their wrists, hands, fingers and thumbs in various motions, can pick up and hold objects, drink from a glass and have sensation in their new hands and fingers.

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 and Associates Hand Care Center. 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.