why can’t limbs be transplanted to the needy just like heart, eyes etc ?
In: 1518
From what surgeons have explained to me sewing on arms is easy, but attaching nerves is like trying to blindly place one needle tip inside of another without stabbing yourself.
From what surgeons have explained to me sewing on arms is easy, but attaching nerves is like trying to blindly place one needle tip inside of another without stabbing yourself.
You can connect the limb itself, but making it usable involves connecting all the muscles, tendons, everything and hoping the body doesn’t reject it too much.
It’s why it’s taken us so long to get artificial limbs that cab be sorta moved while paired with lots of physical therapy, except there is slightly less worry of the body rejecting the artificial limb. And artificial limbs are crazy expensive, if memory serves. Even cosmetic prosthetics are very expensive. I’ll admit I don’t know all the science, but growing up I had the exact same question.
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You can connect the limb itself, but making it usable involves connecting all the muscles, tendons, everything and hoping the body doesn’t reject it too much.
It’s why it’s taken us so long to get artificial limbs that cab be sorta moved while paired with lots of physical therapy, except there is slightly less worry of the body rejecting the artificial limb. And artificial limbs are crazy expensive, if memory serves. Even cosmetic prosthetics are very expensive. I’ll admit I don’t know all the science, but growing up I had the exact same question.
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There are several reasons, two of the biggest are that connecting the thousands of nerves correctly is difficult if not impossible. The other is for bones that contain marrow the donor would have to be a bone marrow match which is a pretty small pool of potential donors, otherwise you have graft vs host disease.
There are several reasons, two of the biggest are that connecting the thousands of nerves correctly is difficult if not impossible. The other is for bones that contain marrow the donor would have to be a bone marrow match which is a pretty small pool of potential donors, otherwise you have graft vs host disease.
The musculoskeletal system is like a bundle of thousands of tiny ropes that run continuously throughout the body. In muscles, those ropes can bunch and contract. In bones the ropes are encased in minerals that make them hard and inflexible. Tendons are where the ropes connect muscles to bone and ligaments are where the bones connect to other bones. But the ropes run throughout these four tissues and all its limbs without any loose ends. When those ropes are severed, it’s very difficult to tie them all back together again. They have the ability to heal, but it’s never quite the same.
Running parallel to all these ropes are interconnected cables called nerves, which are also very difficult to repair when cut.
Replacing a limb without loss of function is a staggering feat of microsurgery, because you have to reconnect thousands of tiny ropes and cables that can’t be easily mended.
The musculoskeletal system is like a bundle of thousands of tiny ropes that run continuously throughout the body. In muscles, those ropes can bunch and contract. In bones the ropes are encased in minerals that make them hard and inflexible. Tendons are where the ropes connect muscles to bone and ligaments are where the bones connect to other bones. But the ropes run throughout these four tissues and all its limbs without any loose ends. When those ropes are severed, it’s very difficult to tie them all back together again. They have the ability to heal, but it’s never quite the same.
Running parallel to all these ropes are interconnected cables called nerves, which are also very difficult to repair when cut.
Replacing a limb without loss of function is a staggering feat of microsurgery, because you have to reconnect thousands of tiny ropes and cables that can’t be easily mended.
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