Rare double transplant gives man new face and two hands
Doctors say a 22-year-old man, badly burned in a car crash, is recovering well after receiving a rare face and hands transplant.
Mr DiMeo fell asleep at the wheel after working a night shift. His car hit a curb, flipped over and burst into flames.
A passing driver who saw the accident pulled him out of the burning wreckage.
But the young man's injuries were so severe that he was forced to spend months in a medically-induced coma and undergo 20 reconstructive surgeries and multiple skin grafts to treat his extensive third-degree burns.
Once it became clear conventional surgeries could not help him regain full vision or use of his hands, Mr DiMeo's medical team - of more than 140 people - began preparing for the risky transplant.
Doctors amputated both of Mr DiMeo's hands, replacing them mid-forearm and connecting nerves, blood vessels and 21 tendons with hair-thin stitches.
They also transplanted a full face, including the forehead, eyebrows, nose, eyelids, lips, both ears and underlying facial bones.
He is now relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze.
Mr DiMeo said: "They had to amputate the tip of my fingers and my face was burned.
"I had little slits in my eyes, so it was like looking through like a chain-linked fence."
"I knew it would be baby steps all the way. You've got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience.
"And you've got to stay strong through everything."
Experts say it appears the surgery at New York University's Langone Health centre was a success, but warn it will take some time to say for sure.
Worldwide, surgeons have completed only 18 face transplants and 35 hand transplants.
But simultaneous face and double hand transplants are extremely rare and have only been tried twice before.
The first attempt was in 2009 on a patient in Paris who died about a month later from complications.
Two years later, Boston doctors tried it again on a woman who was mauled by a chimpanzee, but ultimately had to remove the transplanted hands days later.
Dr Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital who led the second attempt, said: "The fact they could pull it off is phenomenal.
"I know first hand it's incredibly complicated. It's a tremendous success."
Mr DiMeo will be medication for life for the transplants and will need continued rehabilitation to gain sensation and function in his new face and hands.
Doctors had estimated he only had a 6% chance of finding a match compatible with his immune system. They also wanted to find someone with the same gender, skin tone and hand dominance.
And the search for a suitable donor was also scuppered by the COVID-19 pandemic. During New York City's first surge of cases, members of the transplant unit were reassigned to work in coronavirus wards.
A donor was finally identified in Delaware and the 23-hour procedure was completed a few days later.
Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, who led the medical team of more than 140 people, said: "The possibility of us being successful based on the track record looked slim.
"It's not like someone has done this many times before and we have a kind of a schedule, a recipe to follow."
Since leaving hospital in November, Mr DiMeo has been in intensive rehabilitation, devoting hours daily to physical, occupational and speech therapy.
"Rehab was pretty intense," he said, and involves a lot of "retraining yourself to do stuff on your own again".
During a recent session, he practiced raising his eyebrows, opening and closing his eyes, puckering his mouth, giving a thumbs up and whistling.
Mr DiMeo can feel his new forehead and his hands get cold. He can now dress and feed himself.
He plays pool and with his dog Buster.
Once an avid gym-goer, he is also working out again - and practicing his golf swing.
"You got a new chance at life. You really can't give up," he said.
Reference:: Sky News:
No thoughts on “Rare double transplant gives man new face and two hands”
Articles - Most Read
- Home
- LIVER DIS-EASE AND GALL BLADDER DIS-EASE
- Contacts
- African Wholistics - Medicines, Machines and Ignorance
- African Holistics - Seduced by Ignorance and Research
- African Wholistics -The Overlooked Revolution
- The Children of the Sun-3
- Kidney Stones-African Holistic Health
- PART ONE: DIS-EASE TREATMENT AND HEALTH-3
- 'Tortured' and shackled pupils freed from Nigerian Islamic school
- The Serpent and the RainBow-The Jaguar - 2
- PART ONE: DIS-EASE TREATMENT AND HEALTH-2
- PART ONE: DIS-EASE TREATMENT AND HEALTH-4
- PART ONE: DIS-EASE TREATMENT AND HEALTH-5
- King Leopold's Ghost - Introduction
- African Wholistics - Medicine
- Menopause
- PART ONE: DIS-EASE TREATMENT AND HEALTH-6
- The Mystery System
- The Black Pharaohs Nubian Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt
Who's On Line?
We have 240 guests and no members online
Ad Agency Remote
Articles - Latest
- Do Yams Have Carbohydrates?
- Cardiac-a-vest! Remarkable garment could save lives by predicting heart attack risk
- Inflammation-Busting Foods: A Review by Nutrition Professionals
- Dermatologist's insight on shower frequency without harming skin
- Meat is crucial for human health, scientists warn
- How dangerous are interactions between herbal medicines and prescribed drugs?
- The definitive guide to BMI, and how much you should really pay attention to it
- The nightly ritual that could improve memory and brain health, according to scientists
- Hyacinth Bean: How Nutritionists Rate Its Nutrients, Health Effects, And More
- Top healthiest fruits with anti-inflammatory properties
- Vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms: How to spot the signs in your feet
- Dehydration may be as bad 'as smoking' for veins - how much water you need to avoid stroke
- Winter Squash: A Superfood Or Not? Nutrition Professionals Weigh In, With Serving Tips And Health Risks
- Why The Nutrition Professionals Love Winter Melon, Nutritional Benefits And Serving Size Guidelines
- Lesser-known lung cancer symptom in arm or shoulder that can't be ignored
- HIV breakthrough as new technology removes all traces of virus from infected cells
- Seven fruits for diabetics to avoid that can increase blood sugar spike risk
- Top 7 Uses and Benefits of Dead Nettle Plants
- 6 physical symptoms of anxiety you shouldn’t ignore, according to experts