Experts say it appears the surgery at NYU Langone Health was a success, but warn it’ll take some time to say for sure.
U.S. surgeons have completed at least 18 face transplants and 35 hand transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, which oversees the nation s transplant system.
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.
Afterward, he spent months in a medically induced coma and underwent 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, DiMeo’s medical team began preparing for the risky transplant in early 2019.
“Within the world of transplantation, they’re probably the most unusual,” said Dr. David Klassen, UNOS chief medical officer.
Almost immediately, the NYU team encountered challenges including finding a donor.
Doctors 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.
Joe DiMeo, of Clark, New Jersey, underwent the 23-hour surgery back on Wednesday, August 12.
DiMeo suffered third-degree burns over 80% of his body from a car accident in July 2018. He had fallen asleep at the wheel while heading home from his job at a lab.
Despite undergoing approximately 20 reconstructive surgeries, DiMeo had extensive injuries, including amputated fingertips, severe facial scarring, and no lips or eyelids, that affected his vision and daily activities, and severely limited his ability to live a functional and independent life.
A team of more than 140 health care professionals, including surgeons, nurses, and other staff, was led by Eduardo D. Rodriguez, MD, DDS, the Helen L. Kimmel Professor of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and chair of the Hansjrg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone.
Experts say it appears the surgery at NYU Langone Health was a success, but warn it’ll take some time to say for sure.
U.S. surgeons have completed at least 18 face transplants and 35 hand transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, or UNOS, which oversees the nation s transplant system.
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.
Almost six months after a rare face and hands transplant, Joe DiMeo is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze.
The 22-year-old New Jersey resident had the operation last August, two years after being badly burned in a car crash.
“I knew it would be baby steps all the way,” he told the Associated Press. “You’ve got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And you’ve got to stay strong through everything.”
Joe DiMeo exercises at NYU Langone Health (Mark Lennihan/AP)
Experts say it appears the surgery at NYU Langone Health in New York City was a success, but warn it will take some time to say for sure.