Joseph DiMeo had moved into his own apartment and had bought his own car to enjoy his adult life before he got involved in the 2018 accident.
In August 2018, DiMeo was driving home and he fell asleep leading to an accident. He was pulled out of the burning car wreckage by a stranger. He went into a two months induced coma. At least 80 percent of his body had burns. A total of 20 surgeries were performed on him.
DiMeo found a perfect match who donated the face and the arms. The only thing we know about the donor is that he died of stroke. To relief the trauma for the donor’s family, they made 3-D printed repricas of his face and arms. When they returned the donor to his family, he looked as he did before the transplant. That way, they maintained the integrity of the donor for any end of life rituals.
DiMeo’s surgery was conducted by a team of 80 surgeons lead by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, the Chairperson of the Hansjorg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery in New York. The team had practiced and prepared extensively for months on how to successfully perform this surgery. The 23 hours surgery went as planned. The lead surgeon only took three breaks for the bathroom and grab some coffee and snack. Surgery is an intense exercise “You blink and it’s over.”
Photo: Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez lead plastic surgeon
DiMeo becomes the first person in the world to received a face and two hands transplant.
Surgeons have tried two times to give a man a face and two hands transplant but it failed. In France, a man died of an infection two months after the attempted transplant.
“I hope that my motivation inspires other people to get back on their feet and not look down in the dumps. …You’ve got to work hard to change things, and you can’t give up.” Said Joseph DiMeo during a press conference.
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