Surgeons transplant face and hands in world-first op: US
More than 140 surgeons and medical staff carried out the 23-hour double transplant
At 22, Joe DiMeo is still getting used to his hands and face, the product of breakthrough surgery after an accident left him with burns to 80% of his body.
He had stumps where his fingers used to be and his face was severely disfigured after his car rolled and exploded on 14 July 2018.
He spent four months in the burns unit at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, US.
After 20 reconstructive surgeries that still left him with limited use of his hands and face, Mr DiMeo was referred in March 2019 to Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, who heads the plastic surgery department at NYU Langone Health and had already performed three successful face transplants.
