Italy: Bionic transplants - a new dawn for amputees

Italy: Bionic transplants - a new dawn for amputees

Walter Visigalli showed off his new bionic hand on Tuesday in Milan, at the Italian Institute for Hand Surgery in Monza. After having the transplant done earlier this month, he is already able to throw balls, drive and write. Before his new bionic hand, Visgalli had a transplanted hand for 12 years.

Speaking of his new hand Visigalli said: "Let's say that you don't have to take more medicines. It is a hand that you can take it off at night and you can put it back again in the morning, while with a transplanted hand you were never able to take it off, that's just the one you have."

In 2000, Visigalli became the first person in Italy to have a human hand transplant performed by Dr. Marco Lanzetta at the Italian Institute of Hand Surgery. However, in June of this year Visigalli was forced to have the hand removed.

"He has to keep on thinking that this hand is normal and his brain is happy with this new hand and this is what we see every day in how is improving every day. So, what I hope is that this bionic hand will be a fantastic alternative to hand transplantation especially in transplanted patients if something goes wrong and they have to abort the transplantation and go back to square one", Dr Marco Lanzetta said.

According to Dr Lanzetta, the bionic hand is a beginning of new era in hand transplantation.