Hand Transplantation

In this presentation, Dr. Edward Reece, MD, Associate Professor and Chief of Adult Plastic Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine discusses the procedure of hand transplantation, also referred to as composite tissue allotransplantation or CTA. Patients living without one or both hands need lifelong care and often find their condition demoralizing due to difficulty in interacting with their surroundings. Patients who have undergone a successful CTA procedure characterize the experience as life changing. Dr. Reece reviews the history of CTA in adult and pediatric patients and details the risks of the procedure. Significant risks include the adverse effects of lifelong immunosuppression and the possibility of graft rejection. Dr. Reece describes experimental strategies that may improve outcomes for these patients. He highlights general outcomes of this surgery through the discussion of several cohort studies and case studies of patients who received CTA. He concludes the presentation with future directions for success in this field.

Target Audience

This CME/CE activity is designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, residents, fellows, and community providers.

Faculty and trainees within the Department of Medicine who are involved in the care of patients need to be regularly updated with the recent advances and guidelines in the fields of internal medicine and quality improvement to increase clinical knowledge, and to implement the advances and guidelines in clinical practice to enhance the quality of patient care and outcomes.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of the session, the participants should be able to:

  • Compare the benefits of composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) to its risks.

  • Discuss the potential outcomes of CTA with regard to the history of this procedure.

  • Discuss future steps to improve the risks of CTA and further benefit these patients.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 0.50 Participation
Course opens: 
07/01/2019
Course expires: 
07/31/2021
Rating: 
0

Edward Reece, MD, EMBA, FACS

Associate Professor and Chief

Department of Surgery, Section of Adult Plastic Surgery

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Baylor College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Baylor College of Medicine designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Available Credit

  • 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • 0.50 Participation
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