8-Year-Old Makes History As First Pediatric Dual Hand Transplant Recipient

ErnieKey writes: While there have been several hand transplants that have successfully taken place over the past decade or so, a little boy in Maryland, named Zion Harvey has become the first successful pediatric dual hand transplant recipient. After losing both hands and feet due to infection when he was 2 years old, doctors were able to successfully transplant new hands onto the little boy, thanks in part to modern-day 3d printing technology. "The success of Penn's first bilateral hand transplant on an adult, performed in 2011, gave us a foundation to adapt the intricate techniques and coordinated plans required to perform this type of complex procedure on a child," Dr. L. Scott Levin, chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at Penn Medicine and director of the hand transplantation program at Children's Hospital, said in a statement.

Comments

Jesus Christ...

[Sneeka2]

Currently having a two year old as well, the thought of him losing both hands and feet right now is making me feel sick in my stomach. What a horrible thing to have happen to you. Huge props for what that kid and his parents must've gone through.

Re:Let's hope ....

[ArcadeMan]

The operation cost an arm and a leg...

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Re:Pedantic or Pediatric?

[ArcadeMan]

If you think you need coffee, I misread the headline as "First Pediatric Dual Head Transplant Recipient".

And then I wondered if the kid's name was Zaphod...