Hero given new hands

26th June 2010

A soldier who had his hands blown off by an explosive has successfully undergone a double transplant, receiving the hands of a middle-aged woman.

The 34-year old special forces hero was in the middle of removing a live bomb, after an unexperienced recruit had set it off during a training programme, when it exploded in his arms. As a result, his left hand was completely destroyed and all that was left of his right was two severed fingers.

According to Dr Ahmed Elsaftawy, part of the team that included 13 nurses, five doctors and two anaesthetists, it is the first time an operation of this kind has been performed in Poland.

He added; “The most difficult part of the procedure was con ...