, March 6 -- A 45-year-old man, who lost his upper limbs after being run over by a train, has got another shot at resuming a normal life with a bilateral hand transplant at a private hospital in the national Capital.
The patient will be discharged from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Thursday after spending nearly six weeks in the hospital.
Raj Kumar, a resident of Nangloi and a painter by profession, was crossing the railway tracks near his house on his bicycle when the accident happened.
"I was limping due to a leg injury. I slipped on the tracks and my bicycle got stuck. I was trying to pull my bicycle with my hands when I was run over," he recalled.
He lost his upper limbs in the accident. Kumar became dependent on others for his day-to-day activities, said Dr Mahesh Mangal, chairman of the Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery at the hospital.
On January 19, a team of surgeons collaborated to execute the intricate procedure, delicately reattaching various components - bones, arteries, veins, tendons, muscles, nerves, and skin. Precision and expertise were the key, ensuring the seamless integration of the transplanted hands into Raj Kumar's body, Mangal said.
Kumar said that it was a fortnight after the surgery that his bandages were removed, and he could not be more thankful.
Before the surgery, Kumar's only options were either the use of prosthetics or hand transplant. He began using prosthetics but his prosthetic trail was unsuccessful and his only hope was a hand transplant, he said.
But at that time, no centre in north India had the permission to perform a hand transplant.
In February last year, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, became the first hospital in north India to receive permission to perform hand transplant, said Mangal.
"When we were looking for potential candidates for hand transplant, Kumar was on our waiting list. As per transplant protocols, detailed examination and necessary investigations were done. In third week of January, a glimmer of optimism emerged for Raj Kumar when he got a call from the hospital," the doctor said.
The family members of a retired vice-principal of a school in Delhi expressed their wish to donate her organs
after her death, which resulted in Kumar getting a second chance in life.
According to a doctor who treated him, the patient will be on immunosuppressants throughout his life.
"His immunity is slightly low. So he has to take care that he does not catch any infection. He will be on anti-rejection medication for a lifetime now, which also includes immunosuppression medication given for liver or kidney transplants. It happened for the first time and we are very happy now," the doctor said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.