Worlds First Double Leg Transplant

Spanish surgeons perform the world’s first double leg transplant…

Spanish surgeons at the Le Fe Hospital, Valencia, have successfully performed the world’s first double leg transplant. Should the patient’s body accept the donor legs, doctors hope the man could be walking again within 6 months.

The 14 hour operation was lead by Pedro Cavadas, the surgeon who performed Spain’s first face transplant and several arm transplants.

The patient, who lost is legs in a traffic accident and faced life in a wheelchair because prosthetic limbs proved unsuitable, is already out of intensive care and was said to have cried tears of joy when he awoke.

The man and his donor remain unmanned.

Doctors are now waiting to see if the nerves in his legs will grow, and estimate that if the legs are not rejected, the patient should be able to move his knees within one month, stand unaided in swimming poll within two, and hopefully walk again within six.

However, even if nerves begin to grow, there is a long road ahead. Undergoing transplants of such a nature can have a great impact on the patient psychologically.
The first person to receive a new hand in 1998, New Zealander Clint Hallam, opted to have it removed three years later saying it was unsightly and he felt mentally detached from it.

There’s also concern as to whether the new legs will even be able to support his bodyweight.

Nadey Hakim, who performed the world’s first hand and double hand transplants explained that transplanted arms only regain about 50 percent of their original function and strength.