Hand transplant: One year later and functioning

In the past year, Scott's body has tried to reject the new hand three times

January 25, 2000
Web posted at: 12:36 p.m. EST (1736 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- It's been quite a year for Matthew Scott. It began at the University of Louisville in January 1999 with a hand transplant. It was the first in the United States and still an experimental procedure.

"You can't go into a procedure like this thinking it's going to be all roses and sunshine," Scott said.

Scott lost his left hand in 1985 in a firecracker accident, and a hand from a donor was transplanted in January 1999 as a result of a partnership between Jewish Hospital, the University of Louisville and Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Care Center .

INTERACTIVE: A brief look at the surgical process for hand transplantation      VIDEO CNN's Dr. Steve Salvatore reports on the Scott's recovery. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

During the first year, there was a 30 to 50 percent chance of rejection, said Dr. Warren Breidenbach of the University of Louisville.

Failure would have meant his body rejected the transplant.

To prevent this, Scott has been on anti-rejection dugs and will be for the rest of his life. The drugs can increase his risk of infection and cancer.

In the past year, his body has tried to reject the new hand three times and his medicines had to be increased temporarily.

There was also the question of how well his new hand would function.

Scott says you have to be mentally prepared for an operation of this magnitude ( 128 K/07 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

"We anticipate you'd be able to use the hand to open the door, pick up a glass, to dress yourself," Breidenbach said. "You may not be able to use the hand to button single handedly a shirt -- very fine motion."

At first, Scott couldn't do anything with his new hand. But three months after the operation, he threw out the first pitch at a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.