Hands have taken well, doctor says

An Augusta man who received the country's first double hand transplant on Monday is recovering well at a Pittsburgh hospital but things aren't going his way hockey-wise, the head of the surgical transplant team said Thursday night.

Jeff Kepner, 57, of Augusta, is recovering at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and is awake, alert, watching TV and joking around with his medical team, said W. P. Andrew Lee, chief of the division of plastic surgery at the medical center, who led the 10 hand surgeons who performed Mr. Kepner's surgery.

Mr. Kepner grew up near Philadelphia and is a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers hockey team.

"So he was not happy about the fact that the (Pittsburgh) Penguins beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs," Dr. Lee said. "So he was rooting against the Penguins last night, in a Pittsburgh hospital."

While he stressed it is very early in the process, Mr. Kepner is "doing very well," Dr. Lee said. The hands "look very good, they have excellent blood flow to them," he said.

"They also appear to be a very good size and color match with Jeff, which of course was something we took care in matching for the transplant."

Mr. Kepner will be monitored very closely for the next few days in the intensive care unit and then will probably start hand therapy early next week, Dr. Lee said.

He is being aided in his recovery by his wife, Valarie.

"She has been by his side, being extremely supportive," Dr. Lee said." She is at his bedside."

Mr. Kepner will be the first hand-transplant patient to get a new anti-rejection regimen called the Pittsburgh protocol, which involves giving antibodies to stop the initial wave of immune response and about two weeks after the transplant a bone marrow transplant from the donor to help create tolerance of Mr. Kepner's immune system to the new hands.

"So far there is no sign of rejection," Dr. Lee said. "I'm very happy. He's doing well."

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.