Jeff Kepner, an American father who had a double arm transplant, has spoken of his joy at the operation's success but says that he has been left with hands hairier than his body.
The former pastry chef lost his hands more than a decade ago due to a bacterial infection, but is now looking forward to returning home to his family in Augusta, Georgia.
Kepner became the first American to undergo a double hand transplant in May, since when he has been recuperating at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Yesterday he revealed how he was coping with his new limbs, explaining that he still lacks sensation but is learning to grip and pick up small items.
"I'm not the kind of person to say 'Ooh, those aren't mine'," he told the Daily Mirror.
"From the beginning I thought, 'These look pretty darn good'. The donor was hairier than I am but I feel like they've always been on my arms. I'm tickled with the results of that."
He added: "I'm waiting for that finger and thumb pinch. It's going to take a year to get that back."
It took a team of 10 surgeons to attach the hands and forearms to Kepner's amputed arms, which stopped just after the elbow.
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