Successful Arm Transplants Performed by Doctors in Mexico: Would You Donate an Arm? Santa Monica Observer
go to original June 11, 2016

Mexico's first bilateral transplant of arms was in 2012 to a patient who has lost his forearms because of an electrical shock. (GNC Global News Channel)

Mexico´s National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition "Salvador Zubiran" (INCMNSZ by its initials in Spanish) of the Health Ministry, is the only medical unit in Latin America to perform two successful upper limb transplants. Because of its high complexity, it requires the participation of a health professionals multidisciplinary team, from more than 15 specialities.

At a press conference, was reported that Mexico is one of the 19 countries where it has been conducted the bilateral transplant of arms, the first was in 2012 to a 52-year-old patient, who lost his forearms because of an electrical shock. Currently, he presents mobility at both limbs.

The second surgery was performed in October 2015, in a 51-year-old male patient transplanted of both complete arms. Until today, is considered the world´s largest limb transplantation.

In his participation, the Head of Plastic Surgery of this institute, Dr. Martin Iglesias Morales, pointed out that it is a long medical procedure that lasts 24 hours, and has a rehabilitation time between one and four years in average, so it is necessary to supervise closely to the patient and the recovery of the transplanted limb.

...Both patients agreed that with this surgery, they have regained much of their quality of life that lost after the accident were their limbs were amputated.

In the world, there have been transplanted 104 limbs, four of them have been made in Mexico. Upper limb transplants are an emerging treatment that allows patients to be independent in their daily social and economic activities.

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