Composite Tissue Allografts

Transplanting hands -- a model of composite tissue grafting -- began in Lyons in November 1998 with the transplant of one hand and then, in January 2000, of two, both with the support of the Mérieux Foundation. Advances in immunosuppression made possible some unusual transplants of tissue, such as bones, knee-joints, femurs and larynx. From these stemmed the first attempts to transplant hands. This book looks at the long-term results of reattaching hands that have been accidentally amputated. It reviews all the problems -- technical, immunological, nervous, functional and psychological -- that surgeons encountered during and after the transplants. Surgeons, transplant experts, immunologists, dermatologists, psychiatrists, neurophysiologists, physiotherapists and re-education experts will also find here answers to their ethical and legal questions about removing tissue from donors, as well as information about composite tissue grafts in plastic and reconstructive surgery.