Will Lautzenheiser, a former professor of film production and screenwriting, lost his limbs in 2011 after a battle with a severe streptococcal infection. But he received two arm transplants in Boston. "To have come here and to have received this gift is really astonishing to me." Here, Lautzenheiser meets with members of the plastic surgery transplant clinical care team in June 2014 at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Click through to see his remarkable medical journey:
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Will Lautzenheiser, a former professor of film production and screenwriting, lost his limbs in 2011 after a battle with a severe streptococcal infection. But he received two arm transplants in Boston. "To have come here and to have received this gift is really astonishing to me." Here, Lautzenheiser meets with members of the plastic surgery transplant clinical care team in June 2014 at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Click through to see his remarkable medical journey:
Brigham and Women's Hospital handout
Lautzenheiser is seen above visiting a beach before his infection and loss of his limbs.
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Lautzenheiser is seen above visiting a beach before his infection and loss of his limbs.
Courtesy Will Lautzenheiser
Will Lautzenheiser (left) celebrates his wedding day with his twin brother, Tom.
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Will Lautzenheiser (left) celebrates his wedding day with his twin brother, Tom.
Courtesy Tom Lautzenheiser
Lautzenheiser arrives at Brigham and Women's Hospital on the day of his bilateral arm transplant.
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Lautzenheiser arrives at Brigham and Women's Hospital on the day of his bilateral arm transplant.
Lightchaser Photography
Lautzenheiser is seen in pre-op before his remarkable surgery. While his doctors said it may be years until he will be able to actually move his hands in complex ways, Lautzenheiser said he was astonished at his progress.
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Lautzenheiser is seen in pre-op before his remarkable surgery. While his doctors said it may be years until he will be able to actually move his hands in complex ways, Lautzenheiser said he was astonished at his progress.
Lightchaser Photography
Will is joined by his twin, Tom, as he is wheeled into the operating room.
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Will is joined by his twin, Tom, as he is wheeled into the operating room.
Lightchaser Photography
A team of surgeons perform Lautzenheiser's arm transplants. The arms came from an anonymous donor through the New England Organ Bank. <br />
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
A team of surgeons perform Lautzenheiser's arm transplants. The arms came from an anonymous donor through the New England Organ Bank.
Lightchaser Photography
Physicians surgically connect the donor arm during the bilateral arm transplant operation. "Of course I want to thank, to acknowledge and to honor the memory of the man whose arms I have so gratefully received," Lautzenheiser said. "This person who's anonymous to me will always be as close to me as my own skin now."
Double-arm transplant: A medical journey —
Physicians surgically connect the donor arm during the bilateral arm transplant operation. "Of course I want to thank, to acknowledge and to honor the memory of the man whose arms I have so gratefully received," Lautzenheiser said. "This person who's anonymous to me will always be as close to me as my own skin now."
Lightchaser Photography