FIRST CHILD DOUBLE HAND TRANSPLANT ANNOUNCED IN USA

NEW YORK -   An eight-year-old American has become the world’s youngest recipient of a transplant of both hands, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia announced Tuesday.

It took a team of 40 doctors, nurses and other staff from plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopedic surgery, anesthesiology and radiology, to pull off the pioneering surgery.

Surgeons first painstakingly attached bone, then veins. Once the blood was circulating, surgeons connected tendons, muscles and nerves.

• “Zion’s kidney transplant following his infection made him a candidate for transplant because he was already taking anti-rejection medication,” said Benjamin Chang, co-director of CHOP’s Hand Transplantation Program.
• Surgeons operated for 10 hours to carry out the incredibly complicated surgery on Baltimore native Zion Harvey.
• He previously had both his hands and feet amputated and had a kidney transplant following a major infection.

Harvey is receiving daily anti-rejection medications. Doctors said he should be able to return home to Baltimore in a few weeks.

The smiling, precocious youngster had learned to eat, write and even play video games without hands.

Now he says he is looking forward to being able to throw a football with his own hands.

Source: AFP