KCEN-TV, KCEN-HD, Waco, Temple, Killeen, Bryan, TexasSan Antonio hand transplant said to be state's 1st
Associated Press - March 4, 2010 2:45 PM ET
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Military officials say they'll evaluate a San Antonio woman's hand transplant before deciding whether to make it part of their medical program.
Surgeons at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base have given a retired Air Force master sergeant a new left hand. It replaces one lost to a package bomb at Lackland nine years ago.
Janet McWilliams received the new hand in a nine-hour operation Feb. 17 at Wilford Hall in San Antonio. The 59-year-old woman's surgery was the first of its kind in Texas and a first anywhere for a female recipient.
The left-handed McWilliams also lost her right eye and three fingers on her right hand in the July 2001 blast. Brandon Walters was sentenced to more than 90 years in prison for the deed.
McWilliams' new hand came from a deceased organ-donor.
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