The surgery is the first of its kind performed on a child, according to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), which teamed up with Penn Medicine to perform the complex operation. Fewer than 100 people total worldwide have ever received the surgery.

A young Maryland boy who lost his hands and feet several years ago to a bacterial infection has big plans for the future after being the world's first child to undergo a bilateral hand transplant.

Zion Harvey, from Baltimore, Md., lost his hands, feet and a kidney after suffering from sepsis at an early age, according to CHOP. Harvey, 8, had received prosthetics for his feet, but never found ones for his hands that he liked. After a visit to Philadelphia in search of the perfect pair, Zion learned he'd be getting new hands instead.

According to his doctors, Zion was considered the perfect candidate for the surgery because he was already taking anti-rejection drugs from a kidney transplant he received as a toddler. After months of planning, Zion was placed on a donor list and matched within a few months.

The surgery took place in early July and involved a team of 40 doctors, nurses and other staff. During the 11-hour surgery, surgeons attached the hands and forearms of the donor by connecting bone, blood vessels, nerves, muscles and tendons using a variety of steel plates, screws and other specialized equipment. The surgical team was divided into 4 simultaneous operating teams, with 2 focusing on donor limbs and 2 focused on the recipient.

"This surgery was the result of years of training, followed by months of planning and preparation by a remarkable team," says L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, who led the procedure. "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."

Following surgery, Zion spent a week at CHOP's pediatric intensive care unit before moving to an inpatient rehabilitation unit, where he's still in the process of learning how to use his new hands. He's expected to be released from the hospital in the coming weeks, and will continue to receive daily immunosuppressant medications and physical therapy.

Though Zion faces a long road ahead, the "bright and precocious" 8-year-old told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he has big plans for the future that include climbing monkey bars, throwing a football and playing the guitar. He says he might even become a doctor one day, though he tells the paper, "I'll be the kind that doesn't give shots."

Kendal Gapinski