TN’s first cadaver hand recipient on way to recovery

The complicated surgery that lasted for about 13 hours gave a fresh lease of life for a man from Dindigul who had lost both his hands. 

Narayananswamy from Dindigul, who had lost both his hands in an accident around three years ago, underwent the surgery around five months ago. It took 13 long hours for a medical team headed by Dr V Ramadevi to complete the complex procedure which was done at the hospital for free.

“The hands were donated by the family of M Venkatesan. He suffered a head injury after he tripped from the stairs of his house in Manali. The 37-year-old contract labourer in Indian Oil Corporation was admitted to a hospital with severe bleeding, but later succumbed to the injury. The family agreed to donate his organs,” said Ramadevi. “Though Narayanaswamy is healthy now, he is still undergoing physiotherapy and other treatments,” she added. 

It is important to perform the transplant soon after the death of the donor to yield positive results. It is estimated that over 4,000 people in the state are in need of hand transplants, Ramadevi said.