Favoring the risk-benefit balance for upper extremity transplantation--the Pittsburgh Protocol

Hand Clin. 2011 Nov;27(4):511-20, ix-x. doi: 10.1016/j.hcl.2011.08.008.

Abstract

Upper extremity transplantation is an innovative reconstructive strategy with potential of immediate clinical application and the most near-term pay-off for select amputees, allowing reintegration into employment and society. Routine applicability and widespread impact of such strategies for the upper extremity amputees with devastating limb loss could be enabled by implementation of cellular therapies that integrate and unify the concepts of transplant tolerance induction with those of reconstructive transplantation. Such therapies offer the promise of minimizing the risks, maximizing the benefits and optimizing outcomes of these innovative procedures.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amputation, Traumatic / surgery*
  • Bone Marrow Transplantation
  • Chimerism
  • Hand Transplantation*
  • Humans
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / therapeutic use
  • Lymphocyte Depletion
  • Plastic Surgery Procedures / methods*
  • Risk Assessment
  • Transplantation Immunology*
  • Transplantation Tolerance
  • Upper Extremity / surgery*

Substances

  • Immunosuppressive Agents