Pioneer double arm transplant surgery was successful in the UK

A 48-year-old British man has had a double arm transplant, BBC News reported.

Steven Gallagher went to see a doctor 13 years ago due to a rash on his face and pain in his right arm. He was first diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and underwent surgery, but after the pain returned in both hands, a specialist diagnosed scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that causes damage to the skin and internal organs.

His two hands were completely clenched into fists because of the disease, he could not straighten his fingers, he could not hold. The roof worker with three children from Trekorn was also forced to quit his job.

He went to Professor Andrew Hart, a plastic and hand surgeon in Glasgow, who raised the possibility of double-arm transplant surgery. Gallagher also spoke about risky surgery with Professor Simon Kay, a plastic surgeon at Leeds Training Hospital who led the UK’s first double arm transplant in 2016.

After finding the right donor for Gallagher, the operation was performed in Leeds in December 2021 by a team of 30 doctors from various specialists. Doctors say he is the first person in the world to have surgery for scleroderma.

Upon waking up, he was able to shake hands. After four weeks of hospital treatment, all you have to do now is return to physiotherapy and check-ups. He still could not push the button, but he said he could grab his dog, close the tap, and fill a glass with water. He said his health is progressing very slowly week by week and he hopes to be able to work one day.

The most important thing is that his unbearable pain is gone and now his hands are not in pain, he insisted.