I’ve been watching Prison Break, and at the risk of spoiling it, a certain cast members predicament made me ponder this quesiton.
So, is it possible to re-attach a hand and for the hand to work (eventually) fully?
I would point out that the case in the previous post involves a transplanted hand, rather than re-attaching the person’s own severed hand. The latter case would be easier (provided it was done promptly and the hand was not too damaged) because there would be no tissue rejection issues and all the parts would match up.
There have even been some cases of double hand transplants.
it usually doesn’t have the same fine motor skills as it did, but gross motor skills are rather good.
If it’s a plain reattachment, then it is a much simpler procedure, unless you’re really, really clumsy
:eek:
Our local paper’s been kinda keeping tabs on the First double hand transplant in the US, since he’s from my county.
He had the operation a couple months ago, last I remember he’s still doing therapy to help fine tune his motor skills, but he’s capable of doing simple things like grabbing hold/lifting stuff already.
That reminds me of this news article from a couple weeks ago:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hd257tzqFDy77juZgmSnkBmqjA1QD99JI2I81
It’s about a German man who got a double arm transplant (from shoulders) after being without arms for several years. I wouldn’t say that he’s back in full working order, but I find it quite amazing how well it works so far, and it seems to be getting better and better. He can lift them high enough to scratch his head, grip things, and so on, only a year after the transplant.
It’s been done with an arm so it could be with a hand - if it is caught fast enough that the patient hasn’t bled to death although the arteries are not sealed and the hand hasn’t begun to deteriorate, both events that happen fast.
Regarding the arm transplant, I can’t imagine how freaky it must feel to have arms and hands from another person!
Just happy to see that the thread title didn’t have “need answer fast” in it.
Well, it is starting to go green. So maybe I should have.
A friend of mine had this happen. He stuck his hand under an industrial bandsaw to clean it while it was still running. Took his hand clean off, and then cut the thumb off of the severed hand.
It was reattached, including the thumb. He couldn’t bend his thumb all the way to his palm, but other than that, it was good as new. Didn’t even mangle any of his fingers. The scarring, while noticeable, wasn’t horrific.
He said two things helped: The plant was very close to a hospital, and the cuts were so clean it apparently made it easier to re-attach.
Unless New Zealand has national health care, at the rate this guy is going, it’s going to cost him more than an arm and a leg.
Just make sure the transplanted hands aren’t from a murderer.:eek:
I have always understood that nerve growth is very, very slow. So do they eventually regain feeling in the severed hand? It seems that that would be pretty important in an appendage through which you sense so much of your world.
People have sensations, like itching and burning in their hands, even when they don’t have hands.
The problem is nerves. Doctors cannot reattach them well as theyre just too small. I think they get as close as possible and hope it heals naturally over time. Even the best scenarios have permanent nerve loss.
But that’s not real sensation corresponding to real stimulation of the part (of course, since the part is missing), it’s phantom sensation that arrises in the brain, right?
Yes, that’s right. But in the end, all sensations are in the brain. They may be phantom sensations, but they feel as real to the patients as if they had hands.
Phantom limb pain might, however, involve actual nerve endings entrapped in scar tissue. In which case it comes from damaged/compressed nerves, and isn’t “just” in the head.
It IS a real sensation, regardless of whether it stems from actual nerves or some misunderstanding in the brain cells. Calling it “phantom” is really unfortunate, implying it isn’t real. It’s as real as any other sensation you might feel.