Madrid: A Spanish surgeon who oversaw the
world`s first double leg transplant says that if all goes well
the patient might be able to walk with the aid of crutches in
six or seven months.
Dr Pedro Cavadas said the patient is a man in his 20s,
but gave no other details on him or the donor. The surgery
started on Sunday night at a hospital in Valencia in eastern
Spain and lasted until Monday morning.
Cavadas told a news conference today the patient was
elated upon seeing his new limbs.
Other doctors not involved with the surgery said it
might take a year or more for the patient`s nerves to regrow
and for him to be able to feel his legs.
They also worried about whether the patient`s blood
supply to his new legs would be sufficient and about the
possibility of his body rejecting the new limbs.
AP
