Joe DiMeo, a nightshift worker from New Jersey got another chance at life after he got to a chance at a face and double hand transplant, which turned out to be successful.
In 2018, DiMeo had fallen asleep at the wheel while returning home after a night shift, his car crashed, causing it to flip over and explode.
Due to the accident, he suffered from severe facial scarring and amputation of his fingertips after suffering 80% burns in 2018.
It led to diminished vision and mobility, an induced coma for two and a half months. The Severe scarring on the face had resulted in the loss of his lips and eyelids.
The 23-hour surgery by a team of 96 health personnel brought Joe DiMeo a second chance at life. The team of 96 personnel was led by surgeon Eduardo Rodriguez, director of the Face Transplant Program at NYU Langone told a leading daily that “All of us unanimously agree that Joe is the perfect patient. He’s the most highly motivated patient that I’ve ever met.”
The surgery which has taken 6 months before in August 2020 was carried out using a pioneering procedure that made use of 3D printed cutting-guides. After months, the doctors have declared DiMeo’s procedure a success.
The nightshift worked, Joe DiMeo spent four months in the burns unit of a New Jersey hospital, where he received numerous grafts and blood transfusions. He was on the waitlist on the donor registry for 10 months before finding a donor for the face transplant.
As he has got a second chance at life with full face and hand transplant, we wish him the best in coming days.
