The operation to transplant both of Steven’s hands was performed by a team of 30 people. Scot Stephen Gallagher laughed when doctors offered him a double hand transplant. But the complex operation was a success. Now Stephen is free from constant pain and happy to have begun a new phase of normal life.
Steven is 48 years old. 13 years ago, he was working as a roofer and supporting a family of three when he suddenly became ill. He developed a rash on his cheeks and nose and began to experience pain in his right hand. He was first diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as lupus, an autoimmune disease characterized by fatigue and joint pain. Then doctors suspected a neurological disorder, carpal tunnel syndrome, and Steven underwent surgery. But soon the pain returned in both hands, and then a new specialist diagnosed him with an autoimmune disease called scleroderma, which causes scarring of the skin and internal organs.
About seven years ago, Stephen’s fingers began to curl inward until he eventually lost the ability to open his fists. He remembers that it was excruciatingly painful. “My palms started to clench and at some point, instead of hands, I had two fists. I couldn’t do anything with them,” Steven explains. “I could only lift things with my fists. It was impossible to hold on to anything. Dressing myself and doing things like that was very difficult.
Steven, who lives in the small village of Dregorn in western Scotland, had to give up his job. His three daughters are now 12, 24 and 27, but they were much younger then. The doctors referred him to a hand plastic surgeon in Glasgow named Professor Andrew Hart. He began to discuss the possibility of a double hand transplant. “At that moment, I laughed and thought it was something out of this world, a level of future technologies,” Stephen recalls.
Stephen can pet his dog again. The text in Russian translates to: Hart and another specialist in hand plastic surgery, Professor Simon Kay from the Hospital Centre in the city of Leeds in northern England, explained to Stephen the risks associated with the operation. “They didn’t hide anything. They told me that I could lose my hands completely. They said it’s unlikely, but the risk is still there,” Steven explains. He remembers discussing everything with his wife and then undergoing a psychological evaluation to determine if he was ready for the surgery. Surgeon Simon Kay performed the first double hand transplant in the UK in 2016. However, Steven became the first scleroderma patient in the world to receive a double hand transplant. In the end, the operation was carried out by a team of 30 specialists of different profiles. The operation took place in Leeds in December 2021 and lasted about 12 hours. “After the surgery, I woke up in another reality,” says Steven. “These hands are just amazing. Everything happened so fast. As soon as I woke up, I was able to move them immediately.”
Stephen can use a smartphone. Steven spent four weeks in hospital and has been undergoing regular monitoring and physiotherapy at hospitals closer to home in Glasgow. Stephen still has problems with fine motor skills – he cannot push buttons, for example. But he can do simpler movements: pet a dog, open a faucet, pour a glass of water. “I have entered a new phase of my life,” says Stephen. “Every week it gets easier to move my hands, thanks to the physical therapy. Slowly but surely, things are getting better.” According to Steven, he had severe pain in his hands before the surgery, but now they are completely gone and it has been a huge relief for him. According to surgeon Simon Kay, the operation was made possible by the tremendous efforts of a large team, and was very different from transplanting an internal organ such as a liver. In particular, psychologists worked closely with the patient.
Pouring and drinking a glass of water – a privilege for Steven. “We had to make sure that the patient would be able to cope psychologically. There will be a constant reminder of both the surgery and the risk of the body rejecting the transplanted hands. Hands are a part of the body that we look at and use every day,” says Kay. Stephen Gallagher himself says the surgery has changed his life and he hopes to be able to look for work soon.