By Matthew Roscoe • 03 February 2021 • 17:41
CREDIT: Press Release
American Man Gets First Successful Face and Double Hand Transplant.
22-year-old American man, Joe DiMeo, became the first person to receive a successful face and hand transplant.
DiMeo had burns over 80 per cent of his body after being involved in a car accident in 2018, leaving his face without eyelids or lips, and doctors had to amputate his fingers.
On the day of the accident, Joe DiMeo had fallen asleep while driving, causing a serious crash and for the fire to burst into flames, however, thanks to R&B legend and original Blue Magic lead singer Ted Wizard Mills, who rescued DiMeo from the burning car, he was able to be transferred to a hospital quickly.
During three months and 20 reconstructive surgeries, the doctors tried to recreate the young man’s face and hands, but their efforts were not enough. In an interview with Joe for People magazine, he said he was grateful for everything the surgeons tried without giving up.
“I knew it would be baby steps all the way,” DiMeo said. “You’ve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And you’ve got to stay strong through everything.”
Although his face and body had changed so much, DiMeo never gave up hope of being who he was before the accident. His case moved the doctors at the hospital so much that they decided to contact a new plastic specialist, Dr Eduardo Rodriguez from NYU Langone Hospital in New York for his opinion.
And almost a year after the accident, Joe DiMeo and Dr Rodriguez had a medical consultation to evaluate the options and after a 23-hour surgery experts say it appears the surgery at NYU Langone Health was a success, but warn it’ll take some time to say for sure.
“The fact they could pull it off is phenomenal,” said Dr Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital who led the second such attempt. “I know firsthand it’s incredibly complicated. It’s a tremendous success.”
Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “American Man Gets First Successful Face and Double Hand Transplant”. For more UK daily news, Spanish daily news and Global news stories, visit the Euro Weekly News home page.
Share this story
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
Download our media pack in either English or Spanish.