A man who bought the world’s first complete double arm transplant said today he was recovering well and could execute some basic projects with his new limbs.
Karl Merk, a german farmer who underwent the operation in July, can nowadays open doors and spirit lights on again off.
Doctors said skillful were befitting signs of audaciousness increase drag the arms but it could bear up to two years for Merk to relearn how to use his hands.
The 54-year-old lost his arms just below the shoulder in a farm accident involving a combine fieldhand six years ago. It took five teams of medical specialists – a total of around 40 surgeons, anesthetists, nurses and contrary group of workers – to carry out the 15-hour operation over two life in July.
„These are my arms, and I’m not giving them away again,” Merk said at a scoop conference at the Munich University clinic where the surgical procedure was performed.
He said when he first woke up he could not believe it had been successful: „It became really overwhelming whilst I saw that I had arms again.”
Merk observed he was looking ahead to going home, which medical doctors said could be in four to six weeks. In the meantime he will continue with an extraordinary program of physiotherapy, effective stimulation further psychological counseling.
There is still a risk that Merk’s immune system may react to the new limbs, however doctors said there was no sign consequently far of them being rejected.
