Zion Harvey, aged 8, is the first child to ever get a double-hand transplant. According to reports on Wednesday, August 26, he went home from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. His hands were still bandaged, but he can already use them well enough to play with his favorite action figures.
At the age of 2, the boy lost his legs and arms to a life-threatening infection. He was put on immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life and he also needed a kidney transplant. However, due to his tragic medical history Zion became the ideal candidate to be the first kid in the world to get hands transplant.
According to Zion's mom, Pattie Ray, despite all the challenges facing Zion, the boy shows strong determination to overcome them. He is a special kid and he already done so many amazing things, added the mother.
Transplant team lead surgeon Dr. Scott Levin said that Zion went well through the entire surgical procedure and has responded remarkably well to the postoperative therapy. The double-hand transplant tool 11-hour and it was performed in early July. Since then, Zion underwent physical and occupational therapy sessions several times a day. According to his doctor, he is a remarkable kid.
Once getting home from the hospital Zion was just baking cookies and playing with his action figures, using his new hands for doing all sorts of things we never dreamed he would be able to do again, according to Levin's interview for the NBC News.
The transplant team which performed the transplant premiere has already screened another pediatric candidate for the same kind of bilateral hand transplant surgery. Levin said that since the announcement of Zion's procedure, the hospital has received nearly 200 inquiries from around the world for helping children with various extremity problems. However, according to the lead surgeon, not all will be candidates for surgery.
During his recovery process, Zion will be kept under observation by a team of neurologists from the Penn Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. According to Levin, the scientists will study how his brain is now recognizing his new hands.
