Woman flies from Paris to Philly for double hand transplant
A 28-year-old woman from Paris received a double hand transplant in August at the University of Pennsylvania, becoming the second adult to undergo the complex procedure at Penn and the first international patient to receive two new hands in the U.S., Penn revealed Friday.
Laura Nataf lost both hands and both feet when she was 19. The amputations were necessary to save her from a life-threatening bloodstream infection called sepsis, according to Penn. Although artificial limbs helped her function, she began investigating the possibility of a transplant two years after losing her limbs.
Her reconstructive plastic surgeon, Laurent Lantieri at Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou at Paris Decartes University, had previously performed seven face transplants, including one combined with a double hand transplant. In January of this year, donor hands became available for Nataf in Paris, but the transplant could not be done because of "complications with the healthcare system" there, Lantieri said in a press release.
That's when he and his patient turned to L. Scott Levin, the reconstructive plastic surgeon who directs Penn's hand transplant program. Levin had met them six years earlier at an international medical conference on reconstructive transplants.
Nataf was listed for transplantation at Penn in May and three months later received her new hands through the Gift of Life Donor Program, the nonprofit that recovers and distributes organs in the Philadelphia region. Her 8.5-hour surgery involved more than 30 surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists.
"Laura represents not only the progress being made in the field of bilateral hand transplantation," Levin said in a press release, "but she is living proof of our ability to collaborate with medical centers around the world to improve the quality of life of international patients, as well as those in the United States."
Penn's other adult bilateral hand patient, Lindsay Ess, was transplanted in 2011. Like Nataf, Ess lost her feet and hands to amputation after she developed sepsis.
Hand and face transplantation remains controversial because, unlike major organ replacements, "composite tissue" transplants -- so-called because they involve attaching blood vessels, bones, nerves, and soft tissues -- are not life-saving. Yet patients must take immune-suppressing drugs to prevent transplant rejection, just like organ recipients.
Penn's only other double hand transplant patient, Zion Harvey, 9, of Baltimore, was considered a suitable candidate because he had previously undergone a kidney transplant and was already taking anti-rejection drugs. He recently celebrated the first anniversary of his operation.
Nataf is now undergoing physical therapy in Philadelphia to regain hand function. "Once she is able, Laura will return to France to continue tratment with Lantieri and his team," Penn said.
