|
COMPOSITE
TISSUE ALLOTRANSPLANTATION AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY:
The first clinical applications
François
PETIT
Plastic
Surgery Research Laboratory
Massachusetts General Hospital - Harvard Medical School,
Boston, USA.
Department
of Plastic Surgery
Hospital Henri-Mondor - University Paris-XII,
Créteil, France
On September,
1998, a 48-year old man with a right-hand amputation received a forearm
transplant harvested from a 41-year old man in cadaveric (brain dead)
status [1]. This first human hand transplantation was performed in Lyon,
France by a team directed by J.-M. DUBERNARD. The procedure was not
considered by all as an advance in hand surgery [2], but it will be
remembered as a major step in the history of Man, as were the first
kidney (Murray, 1954) and heart transplantations (Barnard, 1967). Dispute
over whether or not the procedure was justified has already taken place
in many publications [2-5]. Despite the contention, more hand transplants
have been performed and other anatomic areas have been transplanted
that recently have entered the scope of " composite tissue allotransplantation
" (C.T.A.) - so called by its promoters - in the field of clinical
practice.
CTA is not a new technique, but a new practice, that couples the rules
of microsurgical reconstruction and the rules of human organ transplantation.
In its ambition (correction of physical handicaps), in its objective
(reconstruction with anatomically identical structures), and in its
technique (the transfer of vascularized tissues), CTA represents the
essentiality of reconstructive surgery. However, by challenging the
natural laws, composite tissue allotransplantation introduces a new
dimension - immunologically, ethically and psychologically - that modifies
the traditional rules of tissue reconstruction.
The first
hand transplants have been regarded as uncustomary due to constraints,
risks and uncertainty about their functional results. Simultaneously,
the surgical community agreed about the prodigious potential that composite
tissue allotransplantation might bring to tissue reconstructive surgery.
The determinitive question to be addressed to the plastic surgeon not
only concerns what the future of the first hand transplants entails,
but also the prospect of all envisageable tissue allografts in the practice
of reconstructive surgery. The main scientific data on this topic has
been gathered and discussed here; it will help one make their own argument
to this intentionally provocative question: " Is composite tissue
allotransplantation the future of reconstructive surgery ? "
THE RULES OF ALLOTRANSPLANTATION IN RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
In its
broadest sense, tissue transplantation is the basis of all modern plastic
and reconstructive surgery [6]. Nasal reconstructions with antebrachial
flaps described by Tagliacozzi in the 16th century are still regarded
as the founding acts of modern reconstructive surgery, which is based
on the use of the patient's own tissues (so called " autologus
") transfered into the tissue defect. This kind of autotransplantation
differs from tissue allotransplantation (formerly called homotransplantation)
which is defined by the transfer of (allo)grafts harvested from a different
subject in the same species (inter-human transplantation). Various techniques
of tissue transplantation can also be differentiated by the location
where tissues are transferred; the transfer is orthotopic when the graft
is transfered to an identical anatomic site. It is heterotopic when
donor and recipient sites are anatomically different. Thus, an autologus
reconstruction is heterotopic.

Figure 1. Fra Angelico
- San Marco Museum, Florence
Thirty
five years ago, the mastery of microsurgery opened the field of replantation
of amputated tissues and reconstruction by transfer of autologus free
flaps [7]. Presently, the discovery of new immunosuppressive agents
can extend this to tissue transfer between non-related subjects. From
a surgical point of view, harvesting tissues from a cadaveric donor
gives several advantages which free the surgeon from the major constraints
of traditional reconstruction. First, tissue allotransplantation obtains
the preeminent objective of any tissue reconstruction; the " like
with like " replacement, … where a thumb would be reconstructed
with a thumb but not with a toe. Accurate semantics actually dictates
that we describe this practice as tissue replacement instead of tissue
reconstruction. Another major advantage of allografts is the avoidance
of any donor site morbidity which liberates the surgeon from the dilemma
of healthy tissue destruction, a drawback of any reconstruction by autologus
tissues. Vascularized tissue allotransplantation works on two parameters
fundamental to any tissue reconstruction: improvement of the result
and reduction of the morbidity related to donor site tissue harvesting.
In doing so, it gives the surgeon the greatest technical conditions
to reach the optimal physical, functional, aesthetic and psychological
result from a tissue reconstruction. Even compared to amputated tissue
replantation, allotransplantation offers theoretical advantages that
would give an improved functional and aesthetic result (table I). This
distinction is restricted to the surgical or " technical "
aspect of the procedure and does not consider a major drawback, specific
to inter-human transplantation : the need for an indefinite immunosuppressive
treatment with potential side effects that currently restrict the development
of allotransplation.
Table
I
| Comparison
of different techniques in replantation or reconstruction for an
amputated limb. |
| |
AUTO-REPLANTATION |
AUTO-RECONSTRUCTION |
ALLO-RECONSTRUCTION |
| Background |
emergency
accidental amputation of the graft
warm ischemia of the graft
predetemined level of replantation |
planned
-
-
- |
planned
surgical harvesting of the graft
cold ischemia of the graft
flexible level of replantation |
| Surgical
procedure |
preparation
+ replantation
-
orthotopic transfer |
harvesting
+ shaping + implantation
donor-site morbidity
heterotopic transfer |
transplantation
-
orthotopic transfer |
| Result |
immediate
neurotized
preexisting aspect |
staged,
alterations required
poor functional result
displeasing aspect |
immediate
neurotized
natural aspect |
Composite
tissue transplantation adheres to the trends of organ transplantation:
harvesting from the donor in dead cerebral status, immunological incompatibility
between donor and recipient, and life-long immunosuppression of the
recipient. Attempts to obtain an efficient yet non-toxic immunosuppresive
treatment has always been the limiting factor of organ transplantation.
Introduced in 1982, cyclosporine dramatically improved the survival
rate of patients by preventing graft rejection without medullar toxicity.
Other immunosuppressive agents introduced in recent years (tacrolimus,
mycophenolate mofetil, monoclonal antibodies, antilymphocytic immunoglobulins,
…) have widened the therapies available to face any situation of rejection
and have limited the toxic effects specific to each drug. Tissue transplantation
benefited from the progress of immunosuppression but immunological specificities
of composite tissues delayed the development of an efficient yet non-toxic
protocol [8]. Unlike solid organ allografts, composite tissue allografts
such as a hand or an entire limb, are histologically heterogeneous and
are composed of tissues that express varying degrees of antigenicity.
Among these tissues are skin and muscle, which are highly antigenic,
and other immunocompetent components such as bone marrow and lymph nodes,
which may participate in the immunological reaction [9]. Since 1990,
many relevant studies have been conducted on animals and in 1997, a
team from Louisville (KY, USA) demonstrated that an immunosuppressive
tritherapy of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisone could
prevent the rejection of an entire limb allograft without major toxicity
in a preclinical model (adult swine) [10]. This new scientific data
fortified the knowledge gained from thirty years of human limb (auto)replantation
and in 1997, the specialists of tissue allotransplantation gathered
at Louisville recommended the use of these immunosuppressive protocols
to perform the first hand transplants in human [11]. Due to the complexity
of the human immunological system, graft rejection, immunosuppressive
toxicity and graft versus host disease (GVH) were still threats. The
first hand transplants that have been performed in humans since 1998
have proved that the immunological obstacle can be overcome without
major difficulties and that the graft is subjected to bone consolidation
and tissue healing similar to the patient's own tissues. The amputation
of the first hand transplant in February 2001, after a long period of
mediatic wander for the patient, confirmed that rejection sanctions
any breach of the immunosuppressive treatment, even 2 years and 4 months
after the intervention.
THE
FIRST CLINICAL APPLICATIONS
In
1988 and 1989, 10 years before the hand transplants, a french team directed
by J.-C. GUIMBERTEAU performed 2 allotransplantations of the digital
flexor tendon system harvested from a non-related living donor (whose
5th finger had to be amputated) and from a cadaveric donor. The grafts
were revascularized onto the recipient's ulnar vessels [12]. Previously,
non-vascularized allotransplants of fresh or frozen tendons had already
been performed but the functional results of these allografts remained
unsatisfactory due to the poor viability of the grafts and to the disorganization
of the flexor system. The goal of the surgeons was to improve these
results by transfering an entire flexor system (the tendon with its
pulies and sheaths) in which viability had to be preserved by the immediate
revascularisation of an anatomical pedicle. Thus, it was a true composite
tissue allograft and rejection had to be prevented by an immunosuppressive
regimen, despite the low antigenicity of the tendon tissue. A treatment
with cyclosporine was prescribed at a non-toxic dose of 7 mg/day for
a 6 month period. The grafts were accepted without rejection by the
2 recipients, the anastomosis of vessels remained permeable, and the
active motion of these 2 fingers had improved from a range of zero to
satisfactory.
In 1994,
a german team directed by G. HOFMANN et M. KIRSCHNER started a program
of vascularized bone tissue allotransplantations for sequelæs
of chondrosarcoma or osteomyelitis of the inferior limb [13, 14]. Based
upon the model of the first vascularized femoral diaphysis allograft
performed by P. CHIRON in 1990 [15], 3 patients received a femoral diaphysis
and 5 patients an entire knee joint with its extensor system. The grafts
were harvested from patients in a brain dead status, resized to match
the bone tissue defect, and transferred to the recipients. The grafts
were immediately revascularized by anastomosis of their pedicle to the
femoral vessels [16], and subsequently anchored to the femur and the
tibia by a centromedullar nail. The immunosuppressive treatment began
with the conjunction of cyclosporine, azathioprin, antithymocytic globulins,
and methylprednisolone for the first 3 days, and was reduced to a bitherapy
of cyclosporine and azathioprin. After 6 months, azathioprin was withdrawn
and cyclosporine alone was administered until complete bone consolidation
of the two osteotomies. The last clinical outcome published after a
2 to 5 year follow-up reported that 4 patients regained a favorable
integration of their bone allograft and a satisfactory range of motion
of their limb with a funtional knee joint [17, 18]. However, 1 femur
allograft (among 3) and 3 knee allografts (among 5) became infected
and were consecutively removed and replaced with a bone autograft or
a full knee prosthetic device. These complications were attributed to
an unsuitable immunosuppressive combination and to an inadequate adaptation
of the immunosuppressive treatment further confounded by insufficient
indications for monitoring the rejection process.
Table
II
| World
experience in hand transplantation. |
| DATE
|
SURGICAL
TEAM |
POSTOPERATIVE
FOLLOW-UP |
| September
1998 |
Lyon
(France) |
Dubernard |
Unilateral |
removed
(2 years, 4 m.) |
| January
1999 |
Louisville
(USA) |
Breidenbach |
Unilateral |
2
years, 6 m. |
| September
1999 |
Guangzhou
(China) |
Pei |
Unilateral
n1
Unilateral n2 |
1
year, 10 m. |
| January
2000 |
Lyon
(France) |
Dubernard |
Bilateral |
1
year, 6 m. |
| March
2000 |
Innsbrück
(Autria) |
Pazzi |
Bilateral |
1
year, 4 m. |
| May
2000 |
Kuala-Lumpur
(Malaysia) |
? |
Unilateral |
1
year, 2 m. |
| August
2000 |
Monza
(Italy) |
Lanzetta |
Unilateral |
1
year |
| October
2000 |
Guangzhou
(China) |
Pei |
Bilateral |
9
months |
| January
2001 |
Harping
(China) |
? |
Bilateral |
6
months |
| Febuary
2001 |
Louisville
(USA) |
Breidenbach |
Unilateral |
5
months |
| The
functional results of the first 4 patients (in bold) have been evaluated
and compared in May 2000, and published in the journal of MICROSURGERY
[22]. |
Since September
1998, 11 hand transplants have been performed around the world, among
them 4 were bilateral (table II) [1, 19, 20]. The observations and results
of the first 4 unilateral allografts were gathered and assessed during
the 2nd International Symposium on composite tissue allotransplantation
(Louisville, USA, May 2000), and published in the journal MICROSURGERY
[21]. At this time, the follow-up was 8 to 20 months. The comparison
of these 4 cases illustrates the conditions under which the procedures
were performed by 3 different teams and gave an initial glimpse into
the functional results of these grafts. The grafts were harvested at
a location above the elbow on the 4 donor subjects and stored at 4°C
during 6 to 12 hours (cold ischemia time) preceded by perfusion of the
brachial artery with the customary preservation solution for organ transplants
(solution from the University of Wisconsin). Distal extremities of the
stumps on the recipients were resected until identification of the healthy
anatomical structures was acheived. Both of the two bones within the
grafts were shortened and adhered to the recipient bones before the
vascular, tendon and nerve anastomosis. The level of the nerve anastomosis
was kept as distal as possible (from 21 cm to 1 cm from the wrist palmar
fold) to reduce the time of nerve regeneration. A skin autograft (Lyon,
Louisville) and a tendon autograft (Louisville) harvested from the foot
have sometimes been necessary. The 4 patients received an induction
immunosuppressive treatment for the first 7 to 10 days, followed by
a maintenance therapy with the identical immunosuppressive combination
of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and prednisone. The patients that
had been operated in Lyon and in Louisville faced a few episodes of
moderate rejection several months after the operation that were diagnosed
with the observation of an erythema on the grafted hand, and ultimately
confirmed with skin biopsies. The rejection was controlled in all cases
with a bolus of oral prednisone and with tacrolimus ointment. The 2
patients operated in China did not experience any rejection during the
first 8 months of follow-up, perhaps because of higher immunological
compatibility (3 HLA mismatches, versus 6 for the Lyon and Louisville
patients), initial irradiation or mechanical removal of the bone marrow
contained in the diaphyses of the 2 bones of the graft, or the higher
dosage of steroids used in the maintaining treatment. The functional
recovery of the first 4 hand transplants was evaluated in May 2000 .
It was considered " fair " (Louisville, Guangzhou 1) and "
good " (Guangzhou 2) by the Carroll test, which assesses the global
functional capabilities of the upper limb in the everyday use (table
III) [22, 23]. The patient transplanted in Lyon did not perform the
Carroll test but exhibited poor functional capacity. The nerve regeneration,
a key determinate of functional recovery, was evaluated by the Tinel
test and was considered remarkably rapid during the first few months
for the 4 patients [24]. This observation was attributed to the favorable
effect of tacrolimus on axonal regeneration, a phenomenon that was previously
observed in animals and in humans [25-28]. However, nerve regeneration
was neither linked to reinnervation of the intrinsic muscles, nor to
a satisfactory distal sensitivity indicated by the Semmes-Weinstein
test [29]. While the patient operated in Lyon ceased physical therapy,
the surgical teams in Louisville and Guangzhou are still hoping to improve
the functional results of the allografts with a program of physical
therapy extended for more than 2 years postoperatively [30]. Though
anticipatory and limited, these functional results are encouraging,
but they should not conceal the repercussions of the immunosuppressive
treatment. During the first 8 to 20 months postoperatively of the first
4 hand transplanted patients, the following complications were observed:
insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Lyon), Cushing's syndrome (Guangzhou
1), CMV colitis (Louisville), herpetic cutaneous infections (Lyon) and
recurrent cutaneous mycoses (Louisville, Guangzhou 1). All these complications
were treated and overcome with a decrease in immunosuppression, but
their recurrence and likely manifestations could have affected the quality
of life. On February 2, 2001, the first hand transplant was amputated
[31]. The patient never followed his treatment nor his physical therapy.
He did not tolerate his diabetes very well and the poor functional results
disheartened him. Two years postoperatively, the patient definitively
discontinued his immunosuppressive treatment and the graft was finally
rejected in a few weeks. He has since recovered from his previous conditions
and is now free of medications. The other 7 patients uni- or bilaterally
hand transplanted around the world are still living with their graft
and are strictly following their immunosuppressive treatment and physical
therapy.
Tableau
III
| Score
of the Carroll test, that serves as an evaluation of the functional
capacities of the hand in everyday life utilization (according to
Russell [23]). |
| 85 |
Excellent |
99 |
| 75 |
Good |
84 |
| 51 |
Fair |
74 |
| 0 |
Poor |
50 |
A
prosthesis usually scores 25 or less.
The best replantations score within the 70 range.
|
In a field
where the results have long been discouraging, new nerve allografts
recently have given hope to patients suffering from extended peripheral
nerve defects [32]. The team lead by S. MACKINNON (St-Louis, USA) presented
results of peripheral nerve allotransplantations on a series of 7 patients
ranging from 3 to 24 years old, operated on between 1988 and 1998 following
upper limb (4 patients) or lower limb (3 patients) impairing traumas
[28]. The grafts were harvested from limbs of subjects in the brain
dead status and preserved via cold ischemia at 5°C for 7 days prior
to implantation. The allografts, with an average length of 190 cm (range:
72 and 350 cm), were eventually completed with crural nerve autografts.
The first 5 patients received a treatment of cyclosporine, azathioprin
and prednisone; tacrolimus replaced cyclosporine for the last 2 patients.
The immunosuppressive therapy was maintained until evidence of nerve
regeneration distal to the graft (positive Tinel test) was observed,
with an average time of 18 months (range: 12 to 26 months). One of the
patients displayed a total immunological rejection of the grafts 4 months
postoperatively, which was attributed to the underdosage of cyclosporine.
All the other patients (6) recovered a sensitivity and some (3) recovered
a motility (upper limb grafts only) which was unaltered subsequent to
the withdrawal of immunosuppression. No side-effects directly related
to the immunosuppressive treatment were observed. These clinical results
were made possible by an improved knowledge of the regeneration process
of nerve allografts in animals, and particularly by the observation
of the replacement process of nerve cells in the graft by Schwann cells
of the recipient [33]. The inducing effect of the tacrolimus on regeneration
could have also been assistive [25, 26]. The withdrawal of the immunosuppressive
treatment after the initial induction period avoided any iatrogenic
complications. Despite specific conditions that are nonapplicable to
other tissues (the non-vascularization of the grafts, the use of interposition
grafts but not " terminal " grafts, preservation before implantation,
and withdrawal of the immunosuppressive treatment), these nerve allografts
represent an advance in the field of nerve regeneration that will directly
benefit composite tissue allografts such as the hand.
One of
the most exciting applications of vascularized tissue allotransplantation
in functional reparative surgery is that of the first larynx allograft
performed in January 1998 by M. STROME at the Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland,
OH, USA) [34]. A 40 year old man, aphonous since the age of 20 after
the traumatic avulsion of his larynx, received an allograft of the complete
pharyngo-laryngal system (larynx, pharynx, 6 laryngeal rings, 2 superior
and recurrent laryngeal nerves, superior thyroid arteries, right internal
jugular vein and left middle thyroid vein, thyroid and parathyroid glands).
After a 10 hour cold ischemia time, the graft was revascularized on
the recipient by the right vessels. It was suspended to the hyoid bone
superiorly, sutured to the 5th tracheal ring inferiorly and to the esophagus
posteriorly, followed by the anastomosis of the left vessels prior to
the 2 laryngeal nerves and right recurrent nerve. The recipient's left
recurrent nerve could not be identified. The patient received an intial
treatment of monoclonal antibodies OKT3, cyclosporine, mycophenolate
mofetil, and methylprednisolone, followed by a maintainance therapy
of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and prednisone. A rejection episode
at 15 months postoperatively, diagnosed by an aphony and laryngeal swelling,
was confirmed by laryngeal biopsies and treated in a few days with a
transient increase of the steroids doses. The patient exhibited high
blood pressure for 6 months, treated by anti-hypertensive drugs, and
3 episodes of tracheobronchitis treated by antibiotics. A pulmonary
infection of Pneumocystis carinii occurred after the patient unexpectedly
discontinued his preventive treatment and was treated with antibiotics.
All these complications were attributed to the immunosuppressive treatment.
Thyroid and parathyroid hormonal dosages remained normal after the transplantation.
The functional results were published recently as a clinical report,
three and a half years postoperatively [35]. At 16 months postoperatively,
the various parameters of the voice (tone, quality, intensity, flow,
and respiratory coordination) were normalized. The patient currently
talks with a perfectly intelligible voice with a natural aspect. The
patient obtained efficient deglutition after 3 months. He can now feed
himself without inhalations. The taste and odor sensations have improved.
No stenosis hampers the air flow and the tracheostomy will soon be closed.
THE
FUTURE OF TISSUE ALLOTRANSPLANTATION
The first
25 cases previously discussed are currently the entirety of tissue allotransplantation
for reconstructive surgery. Early results of these operations proved
that vascularized composite tissue allotransplantation is now achievable.
Graft survival - i.e. prevention of their immunological rejection -
depends only on the adaptation of the immunosuppression that must be
high enough and prolonged. New immunosuppressive agents are sufficient
to extend survival of any kind of tissue graft including skin, which
is seen as the most antigenic tissue, but they carry potential side-effects
that limit their use in reconstructive surgery.
The first
hand allografts were criticized by those who doubted the ability to
functionally recover after the operation and opposed the procedure due
to the risk of complications. Because having hands or a voice are noncritical
to "life", it seemed unwarranted to subject handicapped but
"healthy" patients to the risk of lethal complication, even
a 1% risk [36]. Others who considered that the quality of life is an
even more important consideration than just "staying alive",
defended hand transplantations performed in a rigorous and scientific
environment [37, 38].
Publication
of the early results of the first tissue allografts changed the nature
of the debate that was initially raised. These results are evaluated
and compared every year during the International Symposium on Composite
Tissue Allotransplantation . In May 2000, these results were deemed
as encourageing for the quality of recovered function and for the tolerance
to the immunosuppressive treatment which did not cause any major or
irreversible complications [39]. Amputation of one of the hand transplants
was executed in a patient that never submitted himself to the constraints
inherent to the intervention (the physical therapy, the therapy observance,
the side-effects of the treatment, and the close medical monitoring).
This suggests that reversing the procedure remains a solution to potentially
unacceptable complications or even for unsatisfied patients. The limited
side-effects of the immunosuppressive treatment and the benefits of
the transplantation - functional, but particularly psychological - manifesting
from the restoration of body integrity confirm a posteriori that these
operations were reasonnable, and even justified. However, composite
tissue allotransplantation should still be regarded as an extreme solution
for exceptional indications. In looking forward to long term results,
the national committee of ethics in France has agreed to proceed to
5 more hand allotransplantations for double hand amputated patients
[31].
The principle
of "like with like" reconstruction, specific to tissue allotransplantation,
gives hope to the broadening of the "field of possiblity"
in reconstructive surgery to physical handicaps with no current solution.
The use of vascularized tissues harvested from a different subject could
theoretically be extended to all reconstructive surgery with autologus
tissues to obtain better functional and æsthetic results and to
reduce the morbidity from tissue harvesting. Practically, application
of tissue allotransplantation is currently restricted to rare situations
by:
1 - the
constraints of inter-human transplantation:
the
side-effects of immunosuppression (metabolic disorders, malignancies,
infections) are the predominant limiting factor in tissue allotransplantation
for reconstructive surgery. The risk of transmitting infection that
might elude from current techniques of detection should not be ignored.
In addition, the indispensable matching of donor and recipient under
cosmetic criteria (gender, ethnic background, morphology) is complicated
by the current lack of organ and tissue donors in some countries.
2 - the
difficulty in selecting the appropriate indications:
success
of these operations relies upon the selection of justified indications,
on an efficient immunosuppressive protocol and on the observance of
the treatment and physical therapy by the patient. Reconstructive surgeons
have to define which physical handicaps justify a reconstruction with
an allotransplant. Scalp avulsions, extended facial burns, large mandibular
exereses and proximal limb amputations (preferably at the upper limb)
have already been suggested and some have been experimented in animals
[40]. On the contrary, allotransplantation is unsuitable for certain
pathologies: breast reconstruction, for example, would not be justified
nor technically feasible considering the difficulty to withhold a breast
based on a reliable vascular pedicle. Likewise, an allograft would not
be suitable for congenital malformations of the limb because their functional
result would be poor for these children who do not feel the lack of
a missing limb or hand.
3 - the
uncertainty over the long term results:
while the functional results of these allografts should improve with
time and physical therapy, some immunological phenomenons might curtail
these results in the long term. In organ transplantation, the functional
capacities of some grafts (mostly kidney and heart allografts) decrease
with time : 15 years postoperatively, an average of 35% of the grafts
are not functional [41]. This phenomenon is not clearly understood and
is termed "chronic rejection". Possible explanations are:
latent immunological rejection, toxicity of the immunosuppressive treatment,
and early aging of the grafts. It is anticipatory to know if composite
tissue allografts will undergo this phenomenon, but it is a serious
threat to the long term functional capacities of these allografts. The
quality of the functional results also depends on the integration of
the graft in the body identity of the transplanted patient, i.e. the
recognition and the acceptance of the graft as "self". Functional
MRIs performed on the patient who received a double hand transplant
in Lyon in January 2000 (figures 2 and 3) showed that the cerebral motor
cortex is able to restructure itself to recognize and activate the transplanted
hands, even after the long period of sensitive deprivation due to the
amputation [42]. This cerebral plasticity is a key factor for the use
of the hands in everyday life, but it does not presage the psychological
acceptance of the grafts, which no animal study can evaluate. A risk
exists that the patient becomes preoccupied with the foreign origin
of the graft, which may lead to its "psychological rejection",
as after some cosmetic surgery procedures.
 
Figures 2and 3. Denis
C…, 35 years-old,
before (2000) and after (2001) a double hand transplantation performed
in Lyon (France) in January 2000.
(Photos due to the courtesy of Prof. J.-M. DUBERNARD)
CONCLUSION
Vascularized
composite tissue allotransplantation is a tremendous hope for reconstructive
surgery. The early results of the first clinical cases are encourageing
- very exciting in some cases - but will have to be evaluated and confirmed
in the long term. Meanwhile, this new procedure should not be forbidden
nor recommended, but reserved for a few teams that are experienced in
both reconstructive and transplantation surgery. Restricted to major
handicap conditions and performed under the fundamental guidelines of
medical ethics - professional competency, therapeutic objective, and
information of the patient - composite tissue allotransplantation is
a rightful expression of reconstructive surgery [43].
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Maîtrise
Orthopédique n°111 - 2002; Febuary.
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