After losing four limbs to an infection, Katy Hayes will be the first person in America to undergo a double arm transplant.

Hayes, after having her third child, developed a flesh-eating disease from a Group A streptococcus infection. Streptococcus is bacteria found in the throat or on the skin. It is the same bacteria that cause strep throat and a number of other infections such as necrotizing fasciitis commonly known as the flesh eating disease. For many people the bacterium is a mild condition, but for others, such as Hayes, it can become severe.

Hayes fell into coma which forced surgeons to remove all four limbs. However, surgeons preserved significant tissue below her shoulders in hopes of one day transplanting arms for the patient. Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, director of plastic surgery transplantation at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, will conduct the procedure.

One of Dr. Pomahac's concerns involves the nerve connections in Hayes' arms which were amputated below the shoulder. The nerves will need to grow an extensive distance in order for her new hands and fingers to function.

"The length is the primary concern," Pomahac told Today. "As you go higher up on the arm, you're not sure how to get them to reach perfectly. It's like trying to rewire a fiber optic cable that's been cut. It's difficult to put it back together perfectly."

Currently Hayes is at the top of the New England Organ Bank's waiting list. She will need a donor who has similar skin tone. Following the surgery Dr. Pomahac hopes Hayes will be able to bend her elbows enabling her to get in and out of her wheel chair by herself.

Hayes, who is originally from Texas, will remain in Boston six months after the surgery for rehabilitation. Doctors will be donating their time and services for Hayes procedure.

There is also a Katy Hayes Fund, dedicatee to financially helping the family.

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