Asia’s First Upper Hand Double Hand Transplant

The number one health threat faced by the armed forces around the world is in the form of injuries. It not only affects the military readiness but also in many cases the injuries are musculoskeletal, with the member of the armed forces being amputated thereby impacting their overall life and livelihood. Once injured, the members of the forces are often left without any source of livelihood or pushed to a situation where they are unable to go ahead with their day-to-day lives normally. 

It was with a heavy heart that Abdul Rahim, a 30-year-old Afghan military captain from Kandahar approached the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences for a medical transplant. Having lost both his hands during demining operations in the country, he had approached many hospitals around the world for transplantation before coming to AIMS as the last beacon of hope. Amrita, having been long associated with providing medical assistance to armed forces in the country, the response of reaching out to Rahim and providing the best medical treatment was just spontaneous.

Thus, Asia’s first upper hand double transplant was carried out in a marathon surgical procedure at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences lasting for almost 15 hours with more than 20 surgeons and eight anesthetists participating in it. Each hand required connecting two bones, two arteries, four veins, and about 14 tendons. As the identification, tagging, and connecting of the nerves, tendons, and arteries is very challenging, forearm transplants have been attempted only a few times in the world. In this case, the patient regained a considerable amount of function of both his hands, thereby enabling him to perform day-to-day activities without external assistance.

In a heartwarming response, Abdul Rahim thanked the entire faculty of doctors at Amrita for giving him a new lease of life. The childlike excitement in his eyes when he held a water bottle for the first time after the surgery was quite palpable. It is moments like this that make Amrita push forward the boundaries one at a time.

Asia’s first Open Fetal Surgery

An estimated 295 000 newborns die within 28 days of birth every year, worldwide, due to congenital anomalies. Congenital anomalies can contribute to long-term disability, which may have significant impacts on individuals, families, healthcare systems, and societies. Looking at the statistics pertaining to stillbirth, around 2 million stillbirths happened worldwide in 2019. Many of the cases of congenital anomalies and stillbirths could have been prevented with proper care. For the team of doctors at Amrita, it was quite saddening to see the state of parents after having carried the baby to term as the parents approached the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. As an immediate response, the team took a major leap in the area of congenital disability driven by the glimmer of hope in the eyes of the parents. 

The doctors at Amrita Hospital achieved a significant breakthrough by successfully operating on a baby with a pre-birth defect by taking it out of the mother’s womb, performing corrective surgery, placing it back inside the womb, with the baby subsequently being carried to term. The 21-week fetus had a giant tumour in the right lung that was pressing on its heart. 

The procedure done by experts from the Amrita Centre for Excellence in Foetal Care is a major milestone in the treatment of congenital problems before birth. First of its kind in Asia, this makes India the fourth country in the world to offer open surgery on fetuses. 

Robotic-Assisted DBS Implantation for Parkinson’s Disease

A 45-year-old patient of Parkinson’s disease, the only earning member of his family, got a new lease of life after undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) implantation at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital). This is the first time in Asia that DBS implantation has been done using a medical robot called ROSA. This technology enables minimally invasive surgery of the central nervous system with a level of precision not possible by the human hand. 

It was difficult for Zubair, a 45-year-old auto-rickshaw driver from Kerala’s Guruvayur district suffering from Parkinson’s, to complete a single trip, as he would start shaking uncontrollably midway, terrifying his passengers. Often, he had to request them to disembark and take another auto for their safety. Zubair would then take his medications on the roadside, wait for the effects to kick in, and make another trip to earn a living and support his wife and two children. 

Zubair was just 35 years old when the symptoms of Parkinson’s first came to light. Running from pillar to post to find a solution to her husband’s medical condition, Zubair’s wife reached the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences where she was directed to its Movement Disorder Clinic. Just when Zubair had lost all hope of leading a normal life, doctors suggested a new course of treatment, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) using a medical robot for high precision surgery. Zubair agreed. This procedure remains the first-ever robotic-assisted DBS implantation performed in India, and Asia, for Parkinson’s disease. 

After the trail-blazing surgery conducted by Dr. Ashok Pillai, Dept. of Neurosurgery, at Amrita Hospital, Zubair’s symptoms of Parkinson’s disease have disappeared and he is now able to lead his life as any other healthy adult. Considering the financial situation of the patient, the hospital conducted the surgery free of cost. After the successful surgery, Zubair is extremely happy about his newfound freedom. The symptoms of Parkinson’s have disappeared. He says, “After so many years, I can watch a movie with my family without any disturbance. Earlier, I couldn’t go out to a social gathering or even attend family functions because everyone would stare at my tremors.” Now he is back on the road with a permanent smile on his face as he effortlessly ferries passengers in his auto-rickshaw, all thanks to the electrodes embedded in his brain.