An international team of surgeons in France has carried out the world's first double-arm transplant operation.

Officials at the Eduord-Herriot Hospital in the southern city of Lyon said the operation was performed on a thirty-three-year-old Frenchman, who had lost both arms in a factory explosion three years ago.

The patient's identity was not disclosed, but a hospital statement said his condition was stable and satisfactory.

The operation lasted seventeen hours, and was performed by a team of eighteen surgeons, led by eminent French transplant specialist, Dr Jean-Michel Dubenard; others included doctors from Britain and Australia.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service