Heroic Pigeon

Rocket to Mars

Mystique of the Harley

Star Spangled Banner

Japanese Zero

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Is there a way to make an amputee’s body whole again?

The Smithsonian Institution’s Price of Freedom exhibition is a sobering reminder of how war has changed American society, from the War of Independence through to the present day. But for all its destructive power, war also has the power to transform society in positive ways. In particular, many medical innovations have been the direct result of war. The Civil War was one of the bloodiest in American history, with more than 50,000 soldiers requiring amputation. We go behind the scenes at the Smithsonian to uncover a surgical field kit used during the era. We also examine the prosthetics used to make Civil War soldiers whole again.

But how do you make shattered soldiers whole today?

Museum Secrets travels to world-renowned Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, to meet Dr. Andrew Lee, a pioneer in limb transplantation surgery. We’ll also see how techniques developed to treat soldiers are being used on civilians like Sheila Advento, the first female double hand transplant recipient in America.