First Double-Hand Transplant Recipient Regrets Surgery, Prefers Prosthetics More

In 1999, Jeff Kepner lost both his hands because of sepsis (the presence of bacteria and their toxins in the blood) that started as an infection in his throat. Now, after seven years, Kepner, 64, the first American to receive a double-hand transplant wants them removed because the transplanted hands have never worked.

According to Time, when Kepner lost both his hands in 1999 and was told he was qualified for a transplant, he knew the operation was a risk, and it was a chance he willingly took. But now, he wishes he never took that chance at all.

"From day one I have never been able to use my hands," he says. "I can do absolutely nothing. I sit in my chair all day and wear my TV out."

Independent.co.uk reported that according to Kepner, using prosthetic hands, he was able to drive and hold down a job. And then he was offered to have a surgery to have 2 donor hands attached to his.

Kepner admitted he was fully aware that the nine-hour operation performed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre had several risks involved including the risk of rejection, but he always believed he could always have the hands removed and have his prosthetic hands returned if the feeling did not return to his hands after a year.

Now, he realized that that option was not as simple as he thought it was. "I am not going through all those operations again," he said

Dr. Vijay Gorantla, the administrative medical director of the Pittsburgh Reconstructive Transplant Program at UPMC, is the one managing Kepner and he said that full or partial removal of the hands will not be performed without risks involved.

"We have done everything possible to address his concerns and provide him the best possible, yet realistic, options for the transplant," he said. "We have been frank with him about the anticipated risks and benefits of each option while openly discussing the known and unknown aspects of these procedures."

Gorantla also said that there is no guarantee that Kepner would be able to use prosthetics should he decide to have the hands removed. If he can, he would have to first undergo intense physical therapy, ABC7 Chicago reported.

If the hands were to be only partially amputated, Kepner would need to stay on daily drugs that would prevent his body from rejecting the hands, wrote Gorantla in an email. He added saying: "We believe that additional, minor surgical procedures, and commitment to more physical therapy, could improve the function of his hands to help him with activities of daily living."