Bilateral hand transplantation: Functional benefits assessment in five patients with a mean follow-up of 7.6 years (range 4–13 years)

Between January 2000 and July 2009, five adults who had suffered bilateral traumatic below-elbow amputations, received bilateral hand-forearm allografts performed by the Lyon team. We report the functional benefits achieved over a mean follow-up period of 7.6 years (range 4-13 years), up to December 31st, 2013. Clinical measurement is hampered by the lack of specific validated assessment tools, obliging us to use non-specific standardized …