Mumbai schoolgirl is world’s youngest to get shoulder-level arm transplant

Mumbai, Sep 27 : In a remarkable medical feat, a teenage Mumbai schoolgirl has become the youngest in the world to undergo an arm transplant from the shoulder level at a private hospital with a donated arm flown by a special flight from Surat, officials said here on Friday.

The successful transplant operation with a donated arm of a 9-year-old ‘brain dead’ girl from Surat -- was performed on Anamta Aqeel Ahmad, 15, of Goregaon (Mumbai suburb) by a team of surgeons led by a specialist Dr Nilesh G. Satbhai.

“This a historic set of events… The donor was the youngest ever in India, the recipient (Anamta) is the youngest in the world to undergo such an arm transplant from her shoulder level, after a complicated 12-hour long surgery,” Dr Satbhai told IANS.

Then 13 years old, Anamta’s ordeal started in Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) when she was playing with her cousins on the terrace of their home.

She accidentally happened to touch a live 11-KV electric wire, resulting in a massive shock with significant burns, screamed and collapsed, as her family members rushed her to a local hospital for treatment.

However, her right hand soon developed gangrene and had to be amputated, while her left arm was also badly injured with critical wounds and poor functioning.

The distraught Anamta and her family did not lose hope as she recovered and tried to restart her broken life, relearning various skills, while choosing to remain absolutely independent by tackling all her personal needs and responsibilities.

“She even learnt afresh to write with her left hand and went to score 92 per cent in her SSC examinations, including a staggering score of 98 marks in Hindi in school last year… She never despaired, always maintained an optimistic and cheerful outlook throughout despite her handicap at a tender age,” said her father, Aqeel Ahmad, a filmmaker.

Meanwhile, her anxious family hunted for solutions/options to help her out of the difficult situation and soon realized that a hand transplant could be the only practical way to secure Anamta’s future.

They scoured several hospitals all over India plus in Thailand and Singapore, but were mostly refused since the amputation was at a very high (shoulder) level, and finally, they met Dr Satbhai at the Gleneagles Hospital in Mumbai, which specializes in such surgeries.

“My daughter underwent a detailed pre-operative checkup and was listed for a hand transplantation. After over a year, we got an alert about a suitable hand donor, a small girl declared ‘brain dead’ from Surat (Gujarat) after battling a brain tumour,” Ahmad said.

Dr Satbhai said that after counselling by a local NGO, the deceased girl’s family readily agreed to donate her arm and prompt arrangements were made to bring it safely by chartered flight from Surat to Mumbai.

Describing the procedures, he said hand transplantation is a very complex procedure, a proper assessment of the recipient since the original injury often results in severe scarring of the skin or damage to blood vessels and nerves.

“Besides, transplantation at a higher level with bone fixations is another challenge with many technicalities involved. In Anamta’s case, who was injured almost at the shoulder level, we had to repair blood vessels and nerves at a very high level under the collar bone (clavicle),” explained Dr Satbhai.

A major factor was to restore the blood circulation in the donor's hand within six hours to ensure it survives and functions well without any health risks to the beneficiary (Anamta), hence the donated organ was airlifted to Mumbai.

The surgery went on for nearly 12 hours with a team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, immunologists and intensive care physicians for its successful and long-term outcome.

“The patient has recovered well and is in ICU for observation and shall be discharged in a fortnight. She will be on life-long immunosuppression and soon start physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions. It can usually take 9-12 months for near-normal functional recovery after such proximal transplant,” said Dr Satbhai.

“Our daughter’s tragedy was a wrenching experience for the whole family, and Anamta was going through a tough time for the past two years till we got the donor. She was crying with joy and relief, and now looks forward to returning to school and living a full life,” Ahmad said gratefully.