Jeff Kepner, the first American to undergo a double hand transplant, currently regrets it very much. In an interview with TIME magazine, which was published today, he talked about how the operation was unsuccessful and his new hands do not obey him at all.
“I sit in a chair all day and just stare at the TV,” says Jeff.
Kepner had both arms amputated in 1999 after he contracted an infection that quickly escalated into sepsis. Before he underwent surgery for a new hand transplant in 2009, he used prostheses that he was so used to that he not only did an excellent job, but also drove a car.
Later, Kepner decided that if the transplant was unsuccessful, he could agree to a second amputation operation and return to his prostheses. However, physician Vijay Gorantla, who handled the Kepner case, told TIME that “I was not sure if Kepner would be able to continue using the prostheses if another amputation occurred. This may require very intense and debilitating physical therapy."
Kepner was offered partial amputation of the transplanted limb and compensation with less uncomfortable prostheses, but Jeff says he is already very tired of all these operations and is not ready to go through all this again if something goes wrong.
Dr. Andrew Lee, the surgeon who performed the hand transplant for Kepner, says the case is very unusual.
“The other three patients have seen a significant return to their hand function, allowing them to move into a completely independent lifestyle. They drive, work and go to school,”the doctor explains.
As for Kepner, since the transplant in 2009, the new hands have not been obeying at all, so his wife is constantly looking after him.
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NIKOLAY KHIZHNYAK