Boy Receives Groundbreaking Hand Transplants At CHOP

“We wanted to really make sure that this was going to work for our patient and work for a lifetime, not just a year”, Dr. Benjamin Chang, co-director of the Hand Transplantation Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said in a video released by the hospital.

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 earlier this month.

The smiling, precocious boy from Maryland had learnt to eat, write and even play video games without hands.

“The collaborative effort between these institutions was necessary to assemble the team and organise the players to orchestrate such a complex and demanding procedure that had never been performed on a child”, said Scott H. He also had a kidney transplant (his mother donated the organ).

The happy little boy said that if his surgery “gets messed up”, he will be fine because he still has his family.

Harvey was an ideal transplant candidate due to his previous medical condition.

“When I get these hands”, Harvey said, “I will be proud of what hands I get.”

Harvey demonstrated his still-delicate grip for reporters, and described waking up with new hands as “weird at first, but then good,” according to the Associated Press.

After many hours with Zion under the knife, Levin pointed to a sign of success: Zion’s new hand was pink and when doctors pressed the palm, it turned white briefly and then pink again, indicating “capillary refill” or blood flow in the newly attached appendage.

Now, doctors hope that he would reach many of his goals, which include swinging from monkey bars and throwing ball. Several adults in the U.S. have received double-hand or double-arm transplants in the past few years.

The first thing Zion wants to do is hold his little sister.

Still, as he was growing up, Zion secretly wished he might one day have a pair of hands. “It was a very joyous moment for me”. The operation is painstakingly intricate, but the final result ensures that Harvey will gain increasing strength in his new hands, which will grow with him.

“I have met with him and his mother several times and you would think an 8-year-old would be overwhelmed or bewildered, or unclear as to the pathway we were setting for him”, Levin explained.