Double hand transplant patient leaves Pa. hospital

Young artist wants a Big she can rely on
10:18 a.m.
Train rolls as fire rages
3/21/10
‘Second in the books ... No. 1 in our hearts’
3/21/10
Cricket Wireless clerk hurt during armed robbery
3/21/10
Pilot OK after hard landing
3/21/10
> More headlines

The Associated Press 8:56 AM Tuesday, February 9, 2010

PITTSBURGH — The nation's first double hand transplant recipient has left a Pittsburgh hospital after medicine cleared up a rash that signaled he might be rejecting his new hands.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center spokeswoman Amy Dugas says 58-year-old Jeff Kepner, of Augusta, Ga., was discharged Monday from UPMC Montefiore (mahn-tah-FEE'-ore) hospital.

Kepner received the hands at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in May and went home in October. He was hospitalized last week after he developed the rash on both hands. Dugas says the rash went away after doctors applied an ointment to suppress his immune system.

Kepner, a former pastry chef, lost his hands and feet a decade ago to a bacterial infection. The donor was a 23-year-old Pennsylvania man.

___

Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com

___

February 09, 2010 01:53 PM EST

Share this article