A southern Indiana man who lost his left hand and had his right hand badly damaged in a 1998 workplace accident recently received a hand transplant at a Kentucky hospital, according to a recent news report from The Indy Channel. The hand he received, along with other organs and tissues, was donated by an anonymous family after one of their relatives passed away.
During a 14-hour surgery, physicians attached the replacement hand in stages, starting with the bones and working upward to the final outer layer of skin. His doctors believe he will be well enough to go home within a week, but the man will continue to have physical therapy for several months. Currently, his doctor predicts that he will have the ability to use the new left hand within six months and be able to feel things with it in about 18 months.
The man lost his left hand in a metal-shredding machine several years ago. His co-worker normally ran the machine, but was gone that day, so the man volunteered to take his place. At one point, he reached into the machine, which pulled in both his hands, destroying the left one and damaging the right. The man has said that he most looks forward to being able to do simple things, like fasten buttons and play video games with his kids.
Medical science grows by leaps and bounds each year, and many conditions that would have been permanent or fatal just a few years ago can be reduced to mild difficulties or even cured today. Unfortunately, even the best medical care cannot make up for the distress caused by a catastrophic injury. An experienced Indiana catastrophic injury attorney can help families find out what really caused an accident and hold any negligence parties accountable for the damage their actions caused, which can help restore peace of mind as well as compensate patients for medical and other financial costs.
