Process of Obtaining Social Consensus and 3-Year Functional Outcomes of the First Hand Allotransplantation in Korea.

BACKGROUND: On February 2, 2017, the surgical team of ten board-certified hand specialists of W Hospital in Korea successfully performed the nation's first hand transplantation at Yeungnam University Medical Center (YUMC). This paper reports on the legal, financial, and cultural hurdles that were overcome to open the way for hand transplantation and its functional outcomes at 36 months after the operation. METHODS: W Hospital formed a memorandum of understanding with Daegu city and YUMC to comply with government regulations regarding hand transplantation. Campaigns were initiated in the media to increase public awareness and understanding. With the city's financial and legal support and the university's medical cooperation, a surgical team performed a left distal forearm hand transplantation from a brain-dead 48-year-old man to a 35-year-old left-handed man. RESULTS: With this successful allotransplantation, the Korean Act on Organ Transplantation has now been amended to include hand transplantation. Korean national health insurance has also begun covering hand transplantation. Functional outcome at 36 months after the operation showed satisfactory progress in both motor and sensory functions. The disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand score were 23. The final Hand Transplantation Score was 90 points. Functional brain magnetic resonance imaging shows significant cortical reorganization of the corticospinal tract, and reinnervation of intrinsic muscle is observed. CONCLUSIONS: Hand transplantation at the distal forearm shows very satisfactory outcomes in functional, aesthetical, and psychological aspects. Legal and financial barriers against hand transplantation have long been the most burdensome issues. Despite this momentous success, there have been no other clinical applications of vascularized composite allotransplantation due to the limited acceptance by Korean doctors and people. Further public education campaigns for vascularized composite allotransplantation are needed to increase awareness and acceptance.

Lessons Learned in the Authors' First Years of Wide-Awake Hand Surgery at the W Hospital in Korea.

Wide-awake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) is a promising development for surgeons and patients through improved operation outcomes in hand and wrist surgery. The authors have mostly used WALANT for flexor and extensor tendon repair, tenolysis, and tendon transfer. Its application at W Hospital in korea has bolstered surgeon confidence in tendon repair integrity, gliding ability, and transfer tension via direct observation and patient feedback. The authors do not use WALANT in complicated tenolysis or in secondary surgeries in previous severe injury situations. The procedure has proven similarly unsuitable in incomplete or complete digit replantation.

Recent Advances in Immediate Toe-to-Hand Transfer.

Toe-to-hand transfer is the last option for definitive reconstruction of the hand when digits have been lost as a result of traumatic amputations, congenital anomalies, or tumor ablation. Immediate toe-to-hand transfer for the treatment of acute hand injuries is defined as an emergency operation performed when replantation is impossible or failed. The aim of this article is to propose the indications, advantages and disadvantages of immediate toe to hand transfer as well as to compare the overall results with elective cases.

The clinical efficacy of short-term steroid treatment in multilevel anterior cervical arthrodesis.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Dysphagia is the most common complication of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), and it is closely related to prevertebral soft-tissue swelling (PSTS). A few studies have found that local or systemic methylprednisolone is effective against laryngopharyngeal edema and airway obstruction. PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of short-term use of systemic methylprednisolone in relieving dysphagia and decreasing PSTS during the hospitalization period. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. PATIENT SAMPLE: Forty patients who underwent multilevel (more than three levels) ACDF with same plate fixation. OUTCOME MEASURE: Radiologic and clinical measures. METHODS: Twenty of these patients were given 250 mg of methylprednisolone intravenously (IV) four times a day only for 24 hours after the operation (at 6-hour intervals), whereas the remaining 20 did not receive methylprednisolone and served as controls. We used the Bazaz scale to compare the degree of dysphagia between groups during the hospitalization period. We used the C-spine lateral view to assess the degree of pre- and postoperative PSTS from C2 to C7. At the final follow-up, we assessed the relationship between the occurrence of complications and steroid use. RESULTS: The degree of dysphagia according to the Bazaz scale was less severe in the group that received methylprednisolone (p values; postoperative Day [POD] 2∼5<.05, POD 6=.014, POD 7=.019). Prevertebral soft-tissue swelling was also significantly lower in the group that received methylprednisolone (p values; POD 2∼POD 5 <.005, POD 1=.061, POD 6=.007, POD 7=.091). The amount of PSTS and dysphagia did not differ according to sex, age, smoking history, or length of surgery. The period of hospitalization in the experimental group was shorter than in the control group. No complications related to steroid use were found at the final follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The short-term use of systemic methylprednisolone after ACDF appears to be effective in relieving dysphagia and decreasing the PSTS. Furthermore, the short-term use of methylprednisolone was not associated with any adverse effects of short-term IV steroid usage, such as peptic ulcer disease or postoperative infection. The clinical use of methylprednisolone in relieving dysphagia and decreasing PSTS deserves consideration during the early postoperative period.