Man Gets Two New Hands, Whole New Life

Friday, July 17, 2009 - 12:28 in Health & Medicine

Following the first U.S. double hand transplant, Jeff Kepner is the proud owner of a brand-new pair of lunch hooks Imagine going for a decade without any hands and then suddenly having a new set to work with. That's what happened to Jeff Kepner, the first person to receive a double hand transplant in the U.S. Kepner lost both his hands and feet from a bacterial infection about a decade ago, but was supposedly ambivalent about the surgery, after hearing reports of previous attempts failing due to rejection. With a little persistence from his wife, and some convincing from the head surgeon about new anti-rejection techniques, he agreed to try it. The transplant required 21 surgeons working in groups of four on each arm to attach the new hands. Now, more than 2 months after the surgery was performed, Kepner displays no signs of...

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