Karl Merk, who this summer became the world’s first double arm transplant recipient, can now use his hand, feeling “a whole man again".

The 54-year old man lost his arms in an unfortunate farming accident that occurred six years ago. Both of them were chopped just below the shoulder. When hearing about a clinical trial of double arm transplant, he decided to take part in it, having a glimmer of hope but not actually believing he would someday be able to use his hands the way he did before the combine harvester accident.

To save Merk’s arms, more than 40 surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists got involved in an operation at the Munich University Clinic that lasted no less than 15 hours.

The double arm transplant recipient is currently in process of recovery and physicians are really amazed of his progress.

The German farmer still can’t believe his eyes. "It was really overwhelming when I saw that I had arms again," he told journalists at a news conference held in Munich, southern Germany. “These are my arms, and I'm not giving them away again.”

Cristoph Hoehnke, the head of the team who performed the transplant, believes Merk will do just fine the intensive in-patient program of physiotherapy, counseling and electric stimulation which is anticipated to last four to six more weeks. After this period of time, he will return home to his old life. "All in all, our wildest expectations have pretty much been fulfilled," Dr. Hoehnke said.