January 25, 1999

UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE/ KLEINERT, KUTZ AND ASSOCIATES SURGEONS PERFORM FIRST HAND TRANSPLANT IN U.S. AT JEWISH HOSPITAL

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - A 37-year-old New Jersey man yesterday became the first transplant recipient in the United States. Surgeons will discuss the procedure at an 11 a.m. Monday news conference in the Conference Center (16th Floor) of the Rudd Heart and Lung Center on the Jewish Hospital campus. Animation that illustrates the surgical procedure, b-roll and still photography of the physicians and patient will be available to the media.

The procedure, which began at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday, January 24, lasted 14 1/2 hours and involved a seventeen-member surgical team. The recipient is listed in stable condition at Jewish Hospital, based at the Louisville Medical Center. Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates coordinated the donation of the hand.

The pioneering procedure was developed by a partnership of physicians and researchers at Jewish Hospital, Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center, PLLC, and the University of Louisville. Warren C. Breidenbach, M.D., a hand surgeon with Kleinert, Kutz and Associates and assistant clinical professor of surgery at the University of Louisville headed the surgical team. He was joined by Jon W. Jones, Jr., M.D., assistant professor of Surgery at the University of Louisville.

A hand transplant, unlike a solid organ transplant, involves multiple tissues (skin, muscle, tendon, bone, cartilage, fat, nerves and blood vessels) and is called composite tissue allotransplantation. "Hand transplantation is an extremely complex procedure," says Dr. Breidenbach, "It could be at least a year before we know if he will have a good functioning hand. We hope for a working, functioning hand with good grip and some sensation of hot and cold."

After surgery, the patient was placed on a combination of immunosuppressive drugs at a reduced dosage to lower the risks associated with the anti-rejection medication. Those risks include a higher incidence of cancer, infections and other disorders. "Because a hand transplant is not a life-saving procedure", says Dr. Jones, "the drug treatment will be less aggressive for the hand transplant patient than that of other organ transplants such as heart, lung, kidney, pancreas or liver." Physicians expect the recipient to spend the next week to 10 days at Jewish Hospital. He will be evaluated and monitored for signs of rejection by a trained staff of physicians and nurses and will undergo a number of biopsies and lab evaluations as needed. He also will be evaluated by physical therapists and should begin therapy within the next few days. Dr. Breidenbach expects the patient to stay in the Louisville area for the next one to three months. The patient is the first for the Louisville team's hand transplant program.

Send comments to Brenda Blair