Health

Texas woman to get double arm transplant

By Ryan Jaslow

September 14, 2012 / 10:17 AM EDT / CBS News

katy hates, double arm transplant, brigham and women's hospital — Brigham and Women's Hospital

Katy Hayes, a 43-year-old mother of three from Kingwood, Texas, is preparing to get a double arm transplant in the United States.

Hayes developed a near-fatal Streptococcal A flesh-eating infection following the birth of her third child, Arielle, and fell into a coma. Doctors amputated her arms and legs to save her life. Two years later and after a rigorous evaluation, surgeons at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston announced Sept. 12 they would perform the milestone surgery on Hayes. The hospital is working with the New England Organ Bank to find a suitable donor.

This photo provided by the Hayes family shows Katy and her daughter Arielle, at their Texas home following Katey's amputations.

Katy Hayes and her husband Al speak about her amputations in this screen grab from a video posted on the Brigham and Women's web site. Four days after giving birth to her third child in 2010, Katy developed the Strep infection that nearly took her life.

katy hayes, double arm transplant, brigham and women's hospital — AP

In this May 5, 2010 photo, Al Hayes smiles at his wife Katy in the patient area of Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

In this June 24, 2010, photo, Katy Hayes plays with daughter Arielle at her home in Kingwood, Texas. The Houston Chronicle first reported that Hayes will have someone else's arms and hands transplanted onto her body.

For the procedure, doctors will attach donated arms to where Katy's elbow used to be, first using metal plates and screws to join the bones, before connecting muscles, tendons, arteries, veins and three major nerves of the arm.

Katy Hayes' youngest child Arielle looks at her mother.

Katy Hayes and her daughter Amber share a moment.

Katy Hayes discussing her upcoming double-arm transplant at a press conference September 12, 2012 at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The hospital has gained attention in recent years for performing several face transplant surgeries.

Katy and Al Hayes with their children, Amber and Jake.

The Hayes family poses for a portrait before the birth of Katy's third child.

This photo provided by the Hayes family shows Katy with her husband Al.

This photo provided by the Hayes family shows Katy with her husband Al on their wedding day on July 31, 1999.

This photo from the Hayes family shows Katy, while pregnant with her third child, with her daughter Amber.

Ryan Jaslow

Ryan Jaslow is CBSNews.com's health editor.

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