Our Stories

All Hands on Deck

Global Hospitals, Parel grabbed headlines for being the first hospital in Mumbai to successfully perform a bilateral hand transplant on 28 August.

The patient, 23-year-old Monika More, lost both her hands in 2014 after falling into a train station platform gap. Thanks to our hospital’s multi-disciplinary team led by plastic reconstruction surgeon Dr Nilesh G Satbhai, Monika will be able to regain 95% of her hand function and lead an independent and normal life.

Monika’s family is overjoyed that she finally has a shot at a better life. After the unfortunate accident in 2014, Monika was rehabilitated with prosthetic limbs. Still, the 16-year-old was fully dependent on her mother for even simple tasks like eating, taking a bath and combing her hair.

It was a dream come true when the hospital called them on 27 August, informing that a donor was available. The hands were harvested from a brain-dead patient in Chennai and transported immediately by a chartered flight to Mumbai.

After a hosts of tests, the critical 16-hour surgery started at 1am on 28 August and concluded at 5pm on the same day.

Dr Nilesh Satbhai said, “We had to take special care and follow all the transplant guidelines and COVID-19 protocols during the procedure, which has its own technical challenges. The surgery went well and we are closely monitoring her progress.”