Double Hand Transplant Patient: 'I Feel Fantastic'

(Sept. 2) -- The recipient of cutting-edge double hand transplant surgery is speaking to the media today and reporting that he can already wiggle his fingers and is able to form half a fist.

Dr. Richard Edwards, a 55-year-old chiropractor, suffered severe burns to both hands in a 2006 fire. His surgery, only the third double hand transplant in the country, took 18 hours to complete.

"I feel fantastic," he told reporters. "I'm feeling very blessed and thankful for having a new pair of hands."

Of course, avid followers of extreme surgical procedures are already well-versed in the ins and outs of Edwards' ordeal. Doctors at Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's Health Care live-tweeted the entire operation, posting updates about the progress of the surgery in real time on the hospital's Twitter account.

Edwards' progress following the intensive procedure -- doctors started by removing his damaged hands, bone included, and then replaced them with the new pair -- is being lauded as remarkable.

"This is the result you'd expect in six months!" said Dr. Warren Breidenbach of Kleinert Kutz and Associates, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

In that regard, Edwards is lucky: Doctors were able to spare his nerves, slipping the new hands onto them. That means his return to mobility will be speedier than that of previous patients.

And the faster, the better. Edwards hopes to get back to his chiropractic practice, and -- most of all -- hold hands with his wife.