Abstract
Background More than 85 patients have received over 100 hand/arm transplants and more than 35
patients have received full or partial face transplants at institutions around the
world. Given over two decades of experience in the field and in the light of successful
outcomes with up to 17 years follow up time, should we still consider vascularized
composite allograft (VCA) as a research/clinical investigation? We present the results
of a nationwide electronic survey whose intent was to gather institutional bias with
regard to this question.
Methods An 11 question survey that was developed by VCA advisory committee of American Society
of Transplantation was sent to all identified Internal Review Board chairs or directors
in the United States.
Results We received a total of 54 responses (25.3%) to the survey. The majority (78%) of
responses came from either the chairperson, director, or someone who is administratively
responsible for an IRB.
Conclusion Though certainly not an exhaustive investigation into each institution's preference,
we present a representative sampling. The results of which favor VCA as an accepted
clinical procedure given the appropriate setting. Further research is needed to fully
ascertain practices at each individual institution.
Keywords
vascularized composite allograft - hand transplantation - face transplantation
