Operations successful and transplant patients stable: doctors

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

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Two Turkish patients are in stable condition in Ankara after undergoing respective delicate face and quadruple-limb transplants over the weekend, doctors said yesterday.
 
One of the patients, Cengiz Gül, underwent surgery for a face transplant while Şevket Çavdar became the world's first-ever patient to receive two arms and two legs in a transplant.
 
The operations were conducted by 54 doctors and 128 health personnel.
 
The patients are now stable but the recovery process could be difficult depending on whether their bodies accept the new organs, according to doctors.
 
"The next couple of days will be very important,” one of the doctors told reporters.
 
The doctors also commented on a recent scandal regarding the mishandling of the organs on their way to the hospital, saying it was papers that had fallen on the ground, not the organs themselves.
 
"Still, there should be standards for transport," Dr. Murat Tuncer said. "Documents and organs should be carried in boxes with different colors.”