Vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) has become a reliable treatment alternative for restoring form and function in patients with significant tissue loss. Various types of clinical VCA, including partial-face, full-face, hand, and knee allotransplantation, have been successfully performed with excellent short-to intermediate-term functional and immunological outcomes. Unlike solid organ transplantation (SOT), VCAs usually contain multiple tissue types, including skin, muscle, bone, vessel and nerve.
We have deveopled animal models of VCA to study the unique immunological features and mechanisms of VCA rejection and graft acceptance in each of the component tissues. We have done 6 hand allotransplants in 5 patients.