Asia's first double arm transplant is a success!

Shreya Siddanagowda, 19 year old Indian chemical engineering student at Manipal Institute of Technology became the first recipient of the rare below the elbow hand transplant after loosing both her hands in an accident. The accident took place in  september last year when the bus taken by Shreya to her collage from Pune overturned and crushed both her hands.

A 13 hours long transplantation was done by a team of 20 surgeon and 16 anaesthetists headed by Subrahmania Iyer, who is the head of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department at AIMS. Shreya received the arms from Sachin, a B.Com final year student of Ernakulam's Rajagiri Collage who was declared brain dead after falling victim to a bike accident that resulted in a fatal head injury.

This is the first time in Asia, when an upper arm duble hand transplant was successfully conducted. And only 9 such surgeries have been successfully done worldwide, though it was the first time in the world when a girl was transplanted with a male doner's arm.

 Even the doctors were uncertain about the male to female arms transplant, it was Shreya who had no problem about the gender of the doner as long as she was receiving them. 

“When I heard there is hand transplant facility in India, I finally felt my disability is only temporary. It helped a lot. Hopefully, in the next couple of years, I will lead a near normal life,” said Shreya.

Fortunately her body has not shown any kind of rejection of the transplanted organ. However she will have to take lifelong medication so that her body does not reject the hand at any point of time.

“There was a lot of complexity involved. In such operations, we have to accurately identify and connect various nerves, muscles, tendons, and arteries, which is challenging. In Shreya’s case, both transplants were done in the middle of the upper arm. Only nine such transplants have been conducted in the world till now,” told Dr Iyer.

She is the only daughter of Suma Nuggihalli and Fakirgowda Siddnagowder, a senior manager at Tata Motors.

 “She is more in tune with the doctors here. They know her medical history and will help her the most. Crucial days lie for her ahead, but we will be with her all the way,” said the parents supportively.

Currently under going routine exercises for her fingers, wrists and shoulders, Shreya with start with elbow movement in upcoming weeks. According to Dr. Mohit Sharma, the senior  plastic surgeon who payed a significant role in surgery she will retain 85 percent of the movement in the next one year.