NJ Man Has New Chance At Life After Getting New Face And Hands
Almost six months after a rare face and hands transplant, Joe DiMeo, 22, is relearning how to smile, blink, pinch and squeeze.
Marion Renault and Marshall Ritzel
NEW YORK (AP) 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,” DiMeo 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.”
A woman being treated at the Cleveland Clinic has an almost entirely new face following the most extensive facial transplant ever performed, the medical center said Tuesday.
“It’s incredibly complicated. It’s a tremendous success,” said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital who led the second such attempt.
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DiMeo will be on medications the rest of his life to avoid rejecting the transplants, as well as continued rehabilitation to gain sensation and function in his new face and hands.
In 2018, DiMeo fell asleep at the wheel of his car, he said, after working a night shift as a product-tester for a drug company. The car hit a curb and utility pole, flipped over and burst into flames. Another driver who saw the accident pulled over to rescue DiMeo.
N.J. man got rare face, hand transplant. Six months later, he has a ‘new chance at life.’
Updated Feb 03, 2021;
Posted Feb 03, 2021
Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez has Joe DiMeo demonstrate the flexibility in his new hands, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 at NYU Langone Health in New York. Rodriguez led a surgical team that amputated both of DiMeo’s hands, replacing them mid-forearm and connecting nerves, blood vessels and 21 tendons with hair-thin sutures. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)AP
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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.
‘Got A New Chance At Life’: Joe DiMeo Relearning How To Smile, Squeeze Following Rare Face & Hands Transplant
CBS Philadelphia 2/3/2021 Syndicated Local – CBS Philly
NEW YORK (AP) 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,” DiMeo 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.”