Double hand transplant for boy who lost limbs

Doctors say Zion Harvey is the youngest patient to receive a double hand tranplant

An eight-year-old boy from Maryland is the first ever child recipient of a double hand transplant. A team of 40 people worked in four teams to attach the donor's hands in the unprecedented procedure. Video: CBS, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Surgeons in Philadelphia have performed a double-hand transplant on a boy believed to be the youngest patient to undergo the procedure.

Eight-year-old Zion Harvey’s forearms are still heavily bandaged but his new hands were visible as he joined doctors at a news conference Tuesday.

The transplant was conducted earlier this month at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Zion thanked his family and doctors for helping him on a “bumpy road”.

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The boy is from the suburban Baltimore community of Owings Mills.

His hands and feet were amputated years ago because of an infection. Leg prosthetics let him become an active child, and he learned to eat, write and play video games even before the double-hand transplant.

He will spend several weeks in physical rehab before returning home.