KOCHI: He had been leading a life of cripple for the past 10 years. Life was not easy, the loss of the limbs had changed his life. It was the news about the first hand transplantation at Amrita Hospital in 2015 that ignited hope in his mind. M D Prasad, a native of Visakhapatnam, underwent a rare double-hand transplant surgery at Amrita Hospital on Monday, kindling hopes of leading a normal and productive life.
The patient had lost his hands while serving as an electrician at the Naval Armament Depot 10 years ago. While working as a torpedo fitter, he suffered an electric shock which led to the amputation of his left arm and right palm.
After knowing about the hand transplant, he submitted an application with the Ministry of Defence, which approved the medical procedure as a special case.
With the Navy accepting to bear the `25 lakh expense for the hand transplant, the way was cleared for Prasad to get the surgery done. Prasad was transferred to NAD Aluva around 20 days ago, which helped him rent a house near the hospital and prepare for the surgery.
Meanwhile, the daughter of Meena, 52, a brain dead patient at Narayana Hridayalayam, Bengaluru, gave her consent for organ donation and the wait was over for Prasad.
The Karnataka police created a green channel to transport the hands to Bengaluru airport and it reached Kochi airport by 1 am on Monday.
The Kerala police facilitated the transportation of the hands within 20 minutes from the airport to Amrita Hospital and the surgery started within 10 minutes of the arrival of the hands.
Prasad will have to stay in the hospital for a month for recovery and have to undergo physiotherapy for a year to regain up to 95 per cent of the hand functionality.
Rare hand transplants are performed only at Amrita Hospital in the state presently. The five transplants conducted earlier at the hospital were all successful.