Over 70 hand transplants have been performed worldwide since 1998 with good functional outcomes. We report the first hand transplant in Australia, performed on a 65-year-old man who was asplenic and a four-limb amputee.
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The recipient and transplant team gratefully acknowledge the donor family and DonateLife – Victorian Organ Donation Agency. We acknowledge Wilma Beswick, Chief Medical Officer at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne for her critical involvement in the hand transplant preparation and procedure. We also acknowledge Dan Purtell and Hayley O'Sullivan, occupational therapists of the Hand Therapy Department at St Vincent's Hospital, and Theresa Swanson, wound management specialist, and Catherine Atkinson, occupational therapist, at South West Healthcare for their commitment and involvement in the patient's care. The O'Brien Institute acknowledges the Operational Infrastructure Support Program of the Victorian State Government's Department of Innovation, Industry, and Regional Development.
Karen Dwyer and Angela Webb received financial support from Janssen-Cilag and Novartis, respectively, to attend the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation Meeting in Chicago, United States, in November 2010.