ABSTRACT
Hands are an important organ with which mankind has created his civilizations. Functional reconstruction of hand defects is a difficult clinical problem. The cosmetic artificial hand has no other function than that of decoration. The tool hand and kruckenberg forearm furcate phalangisation have scarcely been utilized now because they have limited functions. The myoelectric artificial hand is the major product on the prosthese market, but its accuracy needs improving. Microsurgery can restore part of the sensory functions of the hand but can not restore its normal contour. Treatment of the lost part of the forearm with an electronic artificial hand, which is controlled by a reconstructed digit transplanted from the second toe to the forearm stump, improves the action accuracy. Wide application of this new technique is recommendable. More than 10 cases treated with allograft hand transplantation have been reported recently. Since these patients have to receive a long term therapy of immunosuppressive agents due to the immunological rejection,this method is not suitable to be a routine clinical operation. If the problems concerning transplantation immunity are solved, allograft hand transplantation will be an optimal method of functional reconstruction of hand defects.