‘All the praise must go to donor,’ says Delhi doctor involved in ‘miracle’ hand transplant surgery
Delhi hand transplant surgery
A Delhi painter who had lost both his hands in a train accident received a new set of limbs after organ donation by a city educationist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The team of doctors who performed the 'miracle' surgeryis being hailed on social media as 'god-sent angels'. However, one of the doctors involved in the operation believes that it's not primarily the team of medical professionalsbut the donor who donated her organs that should receive the public's applause.
"We were doing the procedure as per scientific protocol. All the hail should go to the donor who had given the limbs. There are a lot of organ recipients in the world right now. But there are few donors," Dr Swaroop Singh Gambhir, senior cosmetic and plastic surgeon consultant at Sir Gangaram Hospital, who was part of the complex operation, told WION on March 10, 2024.
"Every encouragement must go to the donor, to her relative. That theycame forward," Dr Gambhir added.
In October 2020, Raj Kumar, now 45, was crossing the railway tracks in Nangloi on his bicycle when he lost control. Kumar was then reportedlyrun over by the train losing both his hands. He had been using prosthetics but his prosthetic trial was unsuccessful.
But Kumar's only hope, a hand transplant, saw the daylight earlier this year in January. The doctors at Sir Gangaram Hospital found the donor. An organ donationpledge by Meena Mehta, former administrative head of a South Delhi school who was declared brain-dead, came to Kumar's help.
On 19th January, the surgical process began. It ended 12 hours later.
"A dedicated team of surgeons collaborated tirelessly to execute this intricate procedure, delicately reattaching various components, including bones, arteries, veins, tendons, muscles, nerves, and skin," according to an official readout.
Asked about the principal challenge during the surgery, Dr. Gambhir said that the time duration between readying Kumar's body for receiving the donor's hand and transplanting the donated hand in itself had to be kept as minimum as possible.
"The time duration had to be kept minimal so that we could get the transplant successfully. The advantage was that the donor was from our [Sir Ganga Ram] hospital only.So we did not have to go out of the hospital to get the hand. The time duration had to be kept minimal to make the transplant successful," Dr Gambhir added.
While the entire procedure took about 12 hours, the "main task" described above was completed in just under one-and-a-half hours.
Another challenge during an arm transplant is blood loss. "Our anesthetics were taking care of that part. They were maintaining the patient's vitals," Dr Gambhir said.
Raj Kumar recovered in six weeks after the surgery and returned home earlier this week.
A total of 14 medical professionals, including nine doctors, performed the complex surgery. The hospital became the first in north India in February 2023 toreceive permission to perform hand transplant surgeries.