Recipient of double arm transplant at Boston hospital happy to be able to hug again

Published January 08, 2015

A former college professor who underwent a double arm transplant last month at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston says the best thing about the operation is that he's able to hug his loved ones again.

Will Lautzenheiser (law-tzen-HYE'-zuhr) — with both arms still in partial casts Tuesday — said at a news conference he's grateful to the anonymous donor who "will always be as close to me as my own skin."

Lautzenheiser is a former professor of film production and screenwriting at Boston University and Montana State University who became a quadruple amputee in 2011 following a streptococcal infection.

He underwent a nearly nine-hour operation last month that involved 13 surgeons.

The Massachusetts native had already started a second career as a club comic before the transplant.

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https://www.foxnews.com/us/recipient-of-double-arm-transplant-at-boston-hospital-happy-to-be-able-to-hug-again