Tuesday, February 02, 1999
Hand transplant patient upbeat about progress
BY BRUCE SCHREINER
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE — A white towel draped over his famous left hand, Matthew Scott leisurely rides an exercise bike and proclaims himself “amazingly well” and pleased with his hand transplant.
A hospital video played Monday shows a comfortable Mr. Scott chatting with doctors in his room at Jewish Hospital. He watches television and carries on a conversation while riding the bike, a daily exercise regimen to keep the New Jersey paramedic fit. He shows no signs of discomfort.
“This has been an amazing ride so far, and I could not have hoped for, so far, a better outcome,” Mr. Scott said in the video made Sunday afternoon.
He said he feels “far better than I thought I ever would after such a surgery. I'm feeling energetic, feeling very upbeat about the progress of the graft.”
Touching thumbs
His hand surgeon said Monday that Mr. Scott continues to make excellent progress although he has had trouble touching his index finger and thumb together during early stages of rehabilitation.
“Overall, we are extremely pleased with his progress,” said Dr. Warren C. Breidenbach, the lead hand surgeon. “He is on course, or ahead of course, in terms of the amount of motion which we see.”
Officials at Jewish Hospital, where Mr. Scott underwent the 141/2-hour operation a week ago, said he could be released later this week. He will remain in Louisville for months of therapy.
Mr. Scott, 37, of Absecon, N.J., said that while the outcome has been “more than I would have hoped for,” he realizes there are still several hurdles to overcome in his convalescence.
“Now I still realize there are all those problems that may come down, the rejection and infection,” he said. “But as it stands right now, I am feeling so good about it and it's looking so good and it's responding so well. As it stands now, I'm very, very happy we went ahead with this.”
No rejection
Dr. Breidenbach said skin biopsies have shown no signs that Mr. Scott's body is rejecting the new hand. But he cau tioned that Mr. Scott was entering a phase in which the possibility of rejection is a concern.
Mr. Scott has experienced sporadic pain that doctors call “phantom limb pain,” Dr. Breidenbach said. Mr. Scott likens it to the pain he felt after surgery more than 13 years ago when he lost his left hand in a fireworks accident.
Mr. Scott said he also was looking forward to a reunion with his two young sons, expected to visit this week.
He has talked with his sons daily by telephone, but he said that “for them to see me and to see that I am not in any peril I think is going to be real important for all of us.”
Mr. Scott is the second person in the world with a transplanted hand, the other being an Australian who underwent the graft in Lyon, France, in September.
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