Surgeons at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) joined with colleagues from Penn Medicine recently to complete the world's first bilateral hand transplant on a child. Earlier this month, the surgical team successfully transplanted donor hands and forearms onto eight-year-old Zion Harvey who, several years earlier, had undergone amputation of his hands and feet and a kidney transplant following a serious infection. Led by L. Scott Levin, M.D., FACS*, Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Penn Medicine, Director of the Hand Transplantation Program at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Professor of Surgery (Division of Plastic Surgery) at the Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania, a 40-member multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses and other staff from plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopaedic surgery, anesthesiology, and radiology, participated in the operation. Attending surgeons from CHOP and from Penn Medicine, along with Scott H. Kozin, M.D.***, chief of staff for Shriners Hospitals for Children--Philadelphia, collaborated during the 10-hour surgical transplantation.

"This surgery was the result of years of training, followed by months of planning and preparation by a remarkable team," said Levin. "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. CHOP is one of the few places in the world that offer the capabilities necessary to push the limits of medicine to give a child a drastically improved quality of life."

"This extraordinary accomplishment highlights the world-class abilities of the physicians, nurses, therapists and other staff who are privileged to serve our patients and their families with skill and dedication," said Madeline Bell, president and chief executive officer of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "I'm especially grateful to Zion's family who entrusted him to our care." 

"The ability to plan and carry out this type of surgery is testament to the skill, expertise, surgical innovation, and passion for excellence available here at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia," said N. Scott Adzick, M.D., CHOP's surgeon-in-chief. "I am extremely proud of Dr. Levin and his team for their courage, dedication and expertise, and appreciative to Zion and his family, whose bravery and trust in this clinical team is truly inspiring."