First Leg Transplant Operation Completed in Spain

While we won't know for a month whether the patient's body accepts the new limbs, the operation could be a breakthrough for amputees.

Spanish surgeons completed the world's first leg transplant and then did it again today to give a second chance at walking to a man who'd lost both limbs in an accident. Doctors at Valencia's La Fe Hospital spent 14 hours affixing the donated legs to the man, whose legs had been amputated around the mid-thigh. The patient had tried to use artificial legs before but didn't have enough of his legs left to be able to use them. It will be a month before the doctors know whether the operation was a success, but, if it is, it could be a medical breakthrough for those who have lost their limbs. Talk about giving a guy a leg-up.