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Texas woman to undergo bilateral arm transplant
09.13.2012
According to information provided by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, a quadruple amputee has been greenlighted by the Bay State facility to undergo a bilateral arm transplant - a new procedure involving the removal of one or more limbs from a deceased individual, and connecting them to living tissue.
It is not unprecedented that such an operation could be successful. According to Brigham and Women's, the hospital successfully performed a similar operation on a Massachusetts-based quadruple amputee last year.
"I want my life back. I want to hold my children. I want to hug my husband," said Katy Hayes, of Kingwood, Texas, quoted by the Boston Herald.
According to the Herald, Brigham and Women's announced that it is searching for a hand donor with the aid of the New England Organ Bank.
Following the onset of a potentially deadly A streptococcal infection - a flesh eating bacteria which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains only cause life-threatening symptoms when they get into muscles, blood or lungs - the now 43-year-old Hayes required an immediate care procedure of the removal of her arms and legs to avoid death.
Brigham and Women's notes that normal organ donor status does not currently qualify an individual for hand transplant donorship, and the deceased donor's family must consent to the transplant. However, Hayes still encourages people to become organ donors to help patients with more common conditions.
"These doctors are true rock stars. They are giving so much hope to people, especially veterans who are coming home with missing limbs. Becoming an organ donor is the most important thing you can do," she said, quoted by the Boston Herald.
Categories: Health and Wellness
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