UPDATE:
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―

A former Marine who received a hand transplant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center last month is making some remarkable progress in his recovery.

This morning, former Marine Josh Maloney, 24, met with the media at UPMC Montefiore.

His hand transplant surgery, the first at UPMC, took place on March 16th. Experts say it’s only the sixth successful hand transplant in the United States.

Maloney is a graduate of Bethel Park High School. Officials say he lost his right hand in a military training accident in January of 2007.

On March 14th, Maloney underwent the 11 hour surgery, which doctors say appears to be a success.

They also say they believe that in about six to 12 months he could have significantly improved sensation and movement in his hand.

His doctors say Maloney is now in daily occupational therapy and under observation for rejection of the limb.

He said it was a very emotional experience for both him and his family.

“I feel great. I mean, it’s the opportunity, obviously, of a lifetime,” said Maloney. “I get my life back. It’s going to take some work, but thanks to Dr. Lee and his team and everybody here, what I had originally thought after I had got hurt I would be limited to, I am no longer.”

Also, the doctors say they hope to perform more of the surgeries and currently have two people on the list waiting for a hand donor.

“This was the first time that a major academic institution has taken on a hand transplant program with a goal of reducing the amount of anti-rejection medications for the patient,” said Dr. Andrew Lee, of UPMC. “Our study protocol has been approved by our institutional review board and is supported by the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine and UPMC.”

Maloney received his hand from an 18-year-old male organ donor from West Virginia.
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Monday, March 23, 2009

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Surgeons have transplanted a hand onto a Marine who was hurt in a training accident, and he has some movement in his fingers, according to the hospital where the operation occurred.

The surgery was performed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center by a team headed by Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee on March 14-15. The man still must undergo bone marrow infusion to reduce the need for traditional anti-rejection drugs. The drugs have side effects that include diabetes and high blood pressure.

The hospital is not releasing the 24-year-old’s identity or details of how he lost his right hand, but hopes to hold a news conference next week.

“For a hand, it takes quite some time to get full movement,” said spokeswoman Amy Dugas Rose. “He has some movement, which is a good sign.”

The Marine will undergo intense daily physical therapy for three months to gain movement, she said.

The surgery is the first of its kind at the Pittsburgh hospital network, and only the sixth in U.S. history. The other five have occurred at Jewish Hospital Heart and Lung Center of Louisville, Ky.

The first U.S. hand transplant was performed in January 1999 on Matthew David Scott, of New Jersey, who lost his hand in December 1985 in an M-80 blast.

The first hand transplant was done in Ecuador in 1964, but the patient’s body rejected the hand after two weeks.

Worldwide, there have been about 32 other patients, and 40 hands transplanted.

UPMC has two people on its hand transplant waiting list, Rose said. One is a man waiting for a double hand transplant.

Finding donors — from cadavers — is challenging, Rose said. Besides matching tissue and blood type, the gender, size and skin tone also must match.

Surgery can last eight to 10 hours as doctors attach two major arteries, veins and repair multiple tendons and nerves.