Swiss man visits Philadelphia months after life-changing hand transplant: “It is still a miracle”

PHILADELPHIA KYW A client from Switzerland is visiting Philadelphia and returning to the hospital that changed his life Texting on his phone for the first time in years for Luka Krizanac is a milestone along with being able to pick up a bottle of water It gives me so much delight to be able to do that comprehensively on my own Krizanac reported The -year-old from Switzerland is back in Philadelphia at Penn Medicine months after having a double-hand transplant I started hoping for this as a child Krizanac reported He says when he was years old a scenario of strep throat wasn t properly treated and turned into a deadly sepsis infection His hands and legs were amputated to save his life Prosthetics worked for his legs but not his hands You need your hands to survive you need it for the largest part basic independence in life Krizanac reported His family turned to the city of independence and the world-renowned transplant unit at Penn to give Krizanac his dream Regaining hands after years I don t think there is a bigger dream than that he announced It took years and a long interruption with the pandemic but the family moved to Philly in the fall to wait for the call that eventually came from the Gift of Life Finding a good hand donor is especially complicated there has to be a match for not only the blood type but also skin color size and age With the hand there are a lot of structures that need to be hooked up Dr Benjamin Chang with Penn Medicine disclosed Chang was part of the Penn crew that performed the -hour surgery Now Krizanac is slowly regaining mobility with his new hands and can feel hot and cold water and texture I am regaining function every week every month but right now I still need a lot of help Krizanac disclosed Krizanac has moved back to Zurich this is his first time back at Penn since the transplant Chang announced that as the nerves continue to grow Krizanac will get more function and feeling in his hands It is still a miracle at present to have two hands basically because I did not have that for almost years Krizanac declared As for what he would say to the donor family who helped reinvent his life Krizanac mentioned he s full of gratitude I would want them to know they changed not just my life but my family s life forever and for that we are deeply grateful he stated Looking forward to a new life and thankful for his time in the City of Brotherly Love