World experience after more than a decade of clinical hand transplantation: update from the Louisville hand transplant program

In the last 12 years, the Louisville CTA program has screened more than 600 interested hand transplant candidates and has transplanted 6 patients with 7 hand allografts. The program is a collaborative effort between the surgeons and staff of Kleinert, Kutz and Associates, Jewish Hospital and St. Mary's Healthcare, the Christine M. Kleinert Institute, and the University of Louisville. The functional outcome and long-term results of clinical hand transplantation have exceeded initial expectations both within the program and in the community at large. This report summarizes the successes and challenges of the Louisville CTA experience in composite tissue allotransplantation.