Double hand transplant patient recovering
57-year-old man stable after day of surgery, Pittsburgh hospital says
PITTSBURGH - A Georgia man is recovering in Pittsburgh after becoming the first U.S. recipient of a double hand transplant.
A University of Pittsburgh Medical Center spokeswoman says 57-year-old Jeff Kepner is stable after a day of surgery that ended Monday night.
Kepner is a native of Pennsylvania who lives in Georgia. He lost his hands and feet to a bacterial infection.
In March, the hospital performed its first hand transplant on a Marine who lost his right hand during a training exercise.
Eight double hand transplants have been performed abroad. French physicians last month performed the world's first simultaneous partial face and double hand transplant. | 