Johns Hopkins Hospital performs double arm transplant on Army soldier

Washington Post
(Seth Wenig/ AP ) - In this July 4, 2012 file photo, Army Sgt. Brendan Marrocco of Staten Island, N.Y., left, Marine Cpl. Todd Love of Atlanta, Ga., center, and Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez of Deming, N.M., pose for a picture at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Marrocco, 26, the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq war, has received a double-arm transplant in Baltimore.

“The nonacceptance rate of prosthetics is highest among young people in their 20s and 30s,” he said.

So the possibility of limb transplantation, despite its enormous medical, psychological and logistical complexity, holds great promise, he said.

Aside from the physical outcome, “I think it also has additional advantage for the patient to be restored whole,” the doctor said. “Once they’re transplanted, they regard the arm as theirs. And I think they’re more comfortable going out on social occasions, as opposed to wearing a prosthetic.”

Marrocco, a fair-skinned young man with a shock of light-colored hair, has not spoken widely about the operation.

After recovering at Walter Reed, he returned to Staten Island, where a special home was reportedly constructed for him by charitable organizations.

On Dec. 16, a Twitter posting, which appeared to be his, announced: “Holy mother of god I was just told I might be having my transplant tomorrow!”

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