Man has world’s first double arm and shoulder transplant decades after accident
An Icelandic man has received the world’s first double arm and shoulder transplant more than 20 years after a devastating accident that forced doctors to amputate.
Felix Gretarsson, 48, is said to be recovering well after going under the knife for the pioneering 14-hour surgery nine days ago in Lyon, France.
The operation has been hailed as a success although doctors are waiting to see how the dad-of-two responds.
But it will be a ‘life-changer’ if he can ‘recover the possibility to actively bend his elbow’, lead surgeon Aram Gazarian told a news conference yesterday.
He added: ‘Giving a little to somebody who was missing so much, that is already a lot.’
Mr Gretarsson posted a picture on Facebook yesterday appearing to show him in a hospital bed holding the hands of medical staff.
Undergoing the operation was his ‘greatest dream’, his wife, Sylwia, told reporters.
In a video from his hospital bed, he described feeling ‘hopeful’ and ‘excellent’, RTE reports.
He added: ‘I can’t wait to attack this new way of living,’ he said. ‘I know I am not there yet. We have three years of rehabilitation (ahead), but I am super hopeful and super happy.’
The electrician was working on a high voltage power line almost exactly 23 years ago, on January 12, 1998, when an 11,000 volt-surge burned his hands and flung him onto icy ground.
He was placed in a three-month coma when surgeons amputated both arms after suffering multiple fractures and internal injuries. But it took years to find suitable donors for him.
Four surgical teams worked on the transplant with around 50 people involved in the highly-complex procedure at the Edouard Herriot hospital.
The medics are said to include staff who have worked alongside Professor Jean-Michel Dubernard, the surgeon who performed the world’s first successful hand transplant in 1998.
Doctors said there were no complications after the operation.
Lionel Badet, the surgeon who launched the medical protocol for the operation in 2010, said Mr Gretarsson has years of re-education ahead of him. but said his team will ‘support him all his life’.
Writing on his website, Mr Gretarsson, who has found a new calling as a life coach, admitted he plunged into depression and drug-taking as he struggled to adjust after his ordeal.
He said: ‘For the next four years, my life only got worse.
‘But fortunately, there came a day of awakening. I realised I was much stronger than I thought and the world is full of good people who can help us navigate our difficulties.’
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