Turkish doctors claim first quadruple limb transplant

ANKARA // The head physician at a Turkish hospital says his team has performed the world's first quadruple limb transplant, attaching two arms and two legs to a young man.

Murat Tuncer on Saturday appealed for blood donations to overcome possible complications following the 20-hour operation, performed by more than 50 doctors at Hacettepe University Hospital in Ankara. He did not provide any details about the patient.

The operation comes after a failed triple limb transplant two months ago at another hospital in the southern city of Antalya. The doctors there were forced to remove a leg from a patient due to tissue incompatibility. The same patient also received two arms.

Tuncer says his team also performed a separate face transplant Friday, the second such operation in Turkey this year.