Editor's note: The video that accompanies this story is graphic.

Some San Antonio doctors are trying something new — attempting to regrow human tissue.

It's a project of the military. Many of the wounded soldiers coming back from the Iraq war are coming back with missing limbs.

At Brooke Army Medical Center, the mission of the U. S. Army Institute of Surgical Research is to help these soldiers function better. Just a few weeks ago, doctors there tried something startling — a procedure to try to jump-start the human body into regrowing tissue.

"What we're really trying to do is reproduce what's already happened in all of us at some time in our lives," said Dr. Steven Wolf, surgeon at the Brooke Army Medical Center, who is also a surgical specialist for the University of Texas Health Science Center.

"So the DNA's there, the code's there ... it's just a matter of tricking the body into doing it," Wolf said.

The key is a powder that's derived from pig bladders called an extracellular matrix, which means proteins from around the cells. When doctors place the powder on a wound, the powder attracts stem cells to the site. Those stem cells encourage the body to make more of what is at the site, be it bone or muscle.

So far, this patient has regenerated about one-third of an inch of his finger, enough ot make his functioning easier.

"Yes, it will turn into tissue that we want to be there. And it will improve function." Wolf said. "Will it look like (my finger)? No."

If this powder technique works and is safe, it could also be used for congenital defects or organs affected by cancer. Right now, it is still an exciting dream.

Wolf's second finger patient is scheduled to get his first dose of powder Tuesday .