Surgeons have released photographs of the incredible operation that resulted in both arms being transplanted to an Iraqi war veteran who lost all four limbs after a bomb explosion.
Brendan Morocco, who was injured in a blast nearly four years ago, says he is looking forward to driving and swimming again after undergoing surgery. The 26-year-old New Yorker spoke at a press conference at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he joined the surgeons who performed the gruesome 13-hour operation.
According to the man, after the injury, he felt great using the prosthetic legs, but it was very difficult for him without his arms. “You do everything with your own hands, and when you don't have them, you feel lost,” he said.
Morocco admitted that now most of all he wants to get behind the wheel of a black all-wheel drive Dodge, which has stood in his garage for the past three years: “I loved driving. I am really looking forward to the day when I can get behind the wheel again and be able to resume sports."
Although he realizes that he will no longer succeed in football, Brendan said that he would like to go swimming and participate in the marathon with a hand bike. His good mood and optimism are some of the qualities that doctors cite to confirm that he is recovering. In their opinion, he will begin to use his arms and hands normally in the next two to three years.
“He is a young man with great hope and he is very stubborn, in a good way, of course,” said Dr. Jamie Shore. Shore said Morocco is already trying to use its hands, although it lacks sensitivity in the fingers and is keen to do something for which the slowly growing nerves and muscles are not yet ready.
This operation is the seventh double arm transplant ever performed in the United States. The infantryman was injured in 2009 and is the first soldier to survive the loss of all four limbs in the Iraq War.
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The soldier also received bone marrow transplants from the same donor to minimize the risk of rejection. The 13-hour operation was performed on December 18. The operation was led by the chief physician of the plastic surgery department, Dr. Andrew Lee.
Brendan was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday but will be in intensive care for two years. Brendan Morocco before the tragedy After a similar operation, human nerves recover at a rate of about an inch per month.
“Progress will be slow, but the results will be amazing,” the doctor said.
Alexey Slobodyan