Mumbai: A 15-year-old girl from Mumbai became the youngest in the world to successfully undergo a hand transplant at shoulder level. For the first time in India, the hand transplant procedure was performed using the hand of the youngest 9-year-old brain-dead donor from Surat, ultimately giving a gift of a new hand to the teenager.
In a historic set of events, Anamta Ahmad from Mumbai’s Goregaon, who lost her right hand due to electrocution in 2022, has received a new hand. This teenager has become the youngest recipient in Asia and the first globally to successfully undergo a shoulder-level limb transplant. Notably, this was the first time in India that a hand transplant was performed using the organ of a 9-year-old brain-dead donor from Surat, providing this teenager with an incredible gift.
Two years ago, 13-year-old Anamta Ahmad from Goregaon, Mumbai travelled to her hometown of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh for a vacation. While playing with her cousins, she accidentally touched an 11KV wire on the terrace, resulting in a severe electric shock that caused significant burns. Her right hand developed gangrene and had to be amputated thrice. Her left arm was also severely injured with major wounds and poor function.
Eventually, Anamta found the strength within herself to confront the difficult truth and come to terms with the necessity of restarting her life and relearning various skills. Demonstrating remarkable fortitude, she dedicated herself to personal growth.
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She refused to take assistance from her family members, chose to be self-reliant and tackled all her daily responsibilities independently. Rather than succumbing to despair, she maintained an optimistic outlook, returned to school without pausing her education, learned to write with her left hand, and scored 92% in her Class 10 examinations.
Anamta underwent a detailed preoperative workup and was listed for hand transplantation. After waiting for more than a year, they got an alert about the availability of a suitable hand donor. The 12 hour surgery was carried out by Dr. Nilesh G. Satbhai, head of plastic, hand and reconstructive microsurgery and his team at Gleneagles Hospitals. After having her right arm amputated just below the shoulder level, the recipient is now on track to recover and regain normal movements and function of her new arm.
Dr. Satbhai said, “In Anamta’s case, as the injury was almost at shoulder level, we had to repair the blood vessels and nerves at a very high level under the collar bone. The most important factor is to restore the circulation of the donor hands within 6 hours, so that it survives and functions well, without causing any risk to the recipient. The patient is recovering well and is still in the ICU for observation. She will be on life-long immunosuppression. Her physiotherapy and rehabilitation will start soon. It usually takes 9-12 months for functional recovery after such proximal transplants.”
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“The loss of my daughter's right hand was a heart-wrenching experience not just for her, but for our entire family. Her optimism kept us going through this difficult time. After waiting for two long years, we felt it was a miracle when our prayers were answered. We jumped with excitement on hearing the news that our daughter would get a new hand. She too couldn’t hold herself back from crying and heaved a huge sigh of relief. We are immensely grateful to the donor's family for their generosity and to Dr. Satbhai and his team for performing a successful surgery without any complications. She will now be able to live her life and fulfill all her dreams,” said her father Aqeel Ahmad, a filmmaker by profession.
