The Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has made history, performing a first-of-its-kind surgery on a 22-year-old software engineering student, Moses Mwendwa.
In a statement on May 6, the hospital announced that it had achieved the honour of performing the world's first Transhumeral Targeted Sensory Reinnervation (TSR) surgery.
"Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has cemented its position as a global leader in medical innovation by successfully performing the world's first Transhumeral Targeted Sensory Reinnervation (TSR) surgery on Mr Moses Mwendwa, a 22-year-old software engineering student," the statement started.
The surgery sought to restore feeling at the stump of Mwendwa's missing left hand for the first time since amputation.
According to the hospital, amputation often leads to imaginary feelings and perceptions of the presence of an amputated part (phantom limb), which is often associated with pain, discomfort and psychological torture.
Reportedly, the surgery took seven hours and was led by a team of multidisciplinary doctors drawn from several facilities and involved rerouting nerves from an amputated limb to the remaining skin, creating a "sensory map" that allows the brain to perceive touch, temperature, and pain as if originating from the missing limb.
Mwendwa's left arm was amputated above the elbow on January 12 after a fall led to compartment syndrome, a life-threatening condition.
After months of physical and emotional recovery, he was offered a chance to participate in KNH's historic TSR Surgical Camp, which took place between April 28 and May 2, culminating in the successful surgery that was conducted on April 29.
"Feeling my missing hand again after believing it was gone forever—that's not just medicine, that's magic," Mwendwa stated on May 6.
The doctors who performed this historic surgery were Prof. Ferdinand Nang'ole (Consultant Plastic Surgeon, KNH/UoN), Dr Benjamin Wabwire (Head of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, KNH) and Prof. Alexander Gardetto (Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Specialist, Italy).
They were supported by Dr Dorsi Jowi, consultant plastic surgeon at KNH; Dr Christine Nyabuto, chief resident in plastic surgery at UON; and Dr Rachel Machiya, a resident orthopaedic surgeon also from UON.
Further support was provided by the anaesthesia team led by Dr John Mwanzia and Dr Ruth Nyambura. The nursing team was headed by Erick Odongo, assisted by Mercy Chepkemoi and Esther Munga. In addition, Catherine Muthengi played a key role as the theatre sterile assistant.
Dr Wabwire stated, "By creating this neural hand map, we're not just restoring sensation – we're enabling better prosthetic control and pain management, fundamentally changing what's possible for amputees through plastic and reconstructive surgery."
As for the pioneering TSR camp, he stated that it represented a watershed moment for African medicine.
