Regeneration of cutaneous innervation in a human hand allograft

On Sept 23, 1998, a human hand allograft was done in our hospital. We followed up the patients for 24 months to assess the skin structure by immunohistology. Most cutaneous structures (including dermal nerves with their Schwann cells and perineurial fibroblasts) were present immediately after surgery and remained detectable throughout the study; from day 464 onwards, axons became detectable within dermal nerves, and their density increased progressively with time. Merkel cells reapppeared in the epidermis 12 months after the operation. The regeneration of cutaneous innervation paralleled the recovery of cutaneous sensitivity.