Patient tells how he is learning to live with new hand

Mark Cahill, 51, told the Radio Times he is learning to live with his new limb after the pioneering operation at Leeds General Infirmary on December 27.

The former pub landlord, from Greetland, near Halifax, said he has had no problems accepting the new hand, despite it being smaller, paler and more freckled than the other. “I’ve always seen it as my hand, since the moment I woke up after the operation,” he told the magazine.

He said he also feels that the fingernails have become his own.

“They grow at the same rate on both hands and they’ve already been cut three times.

“So whatever it is that makes your nails grow must come from me,” he said.

Mr Cahill said he would not have been able to accept a hand that looked out of place – such as one from a female donor – but he felt anything was better than his existing hand, which he lost the use of through to severe gout.

“I can see why people with two hands don’t understand. But going from a hand that can’t do anything, it doesn’t seem unusual. Having a hand that is warm, that feels, that is part of you, is much better than a prosthetic limb.”

Within the next few months, he should be able to use his hand to pick things up and tie his shoelaces.

Mr Cahill has no regrets about the surgery, despite having to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life.

“The future’s changed. Now I’ve got something to look forward to,” he said.

He is married to Sylvia and has one daughter.