Experimental transplantation of limbs.

This article is a brief review of experimental and clinical studies on replantation and transplantation of the whole limbs. Special reference is given to our preliminary study of the foetal limb allograft in young rabbits. The results showed that the vascularised foetal limb allografts of the group with Cyclosporine A (CsA) treatment increased in longitudinal growth in their first 6 weeks of transplantation as compared to the group without CsA treatment. Transplantation of foetal tissue has yielded new possibilities in the treatment of congenital and traumatic limb defects in human in the future. The utility of foetal limb tissues brings us a step closer towards the long road of limb transplantation.