Hand transplantation: Comparisons and observations of the first four clinical cases

Twenty, 15, and 8 months after the first four successful human hand transpl ant procedures were performed in Lyon (France), Louisville (U.S.), and Guan gzhou (China), the transplant teams convened in Louisville, Kentucky, to sh are their experiences at the Second International Symposium on Composite Ti ssue Allotransplantation. This article presents reconstructive and immunolo gical data from these landmark procedures in tabular format, in an attempt to answer some key questions about early outcomes of clinical hand transpla ntation. On the basis of these data, the initial outcomes of the first four hand transplants are encouraging and warrant proceeding with additional ha nd transplantations. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.