The 8-year-old boy with the vibrant personality who became the first child to get a double hand transplant was discharged from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Wednesday.
Doctors there said his longterm prognosis looked good.
Zion Harvey underwent the groundbreaking surgery July 28.
Harvey spent a week in the intensive care unit before being moved to a medical unit. He spent his final weeks at the hospital getting inpatient rehabilitation treatment. He has been receiving physical and occupational therapy several times a day as he works to improve functioning of his new hands.
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The Owings Mills boy will continue to receive outpatient therapy, which may last as long as two years. The doctors who performed the surgery will continue to follow Zion at first monthly, and then annually throughout his life.
Harvey had his hands and feet amputated at the age of 2 after a sepsis infection caused him to develop gangrene.
A team of 40, including nurses and other staff from plastic and reconstructive surgery, orthopaedic surgery, anesthesiology, and radiology, took part in the 10-hour operation. They came from Penn Medicine, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Harvey had adapted well to living without hands, but he couldn’t do some things like throw a football.