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THE WORLD’S FIRST double-leg transplant patient has had both limbs amputated after an unrelated illness forced him to stop taking anti-rejection drugs, the Spanish hospital that carried out the operation said today.
“The patient who had two legs transplanted at the Hospital La Fe in 2011 had to undergo an operation to amputate the two extremities,” said a statement issued by the hospital in Valencia, eastern Spain.
The patient, who contracted an unrelated illness, had the two limbs amputated about a year and a half after the milestone transplant, it said.
He had to stop taking immunosuppressant drugs required to prevent his body rejecting the transplant because the medicine was complicating the treatment of the illness, the hospital said.
“In these cases the protocol is that, if the transplanted organ is not a vital organ, it should be removed from the patient so as to allow treatment of the illness that is more serious and urgent.”
10-hour transplant operation
The patient had not given permission for the release of information about his current treatment, the hospital added.
Renowned surgeon Pedro Cavadas led the team that carried out the original 10-hour transplant operation, which was completed on July 10, 2011.
The double leg surgery was touted as a world first.
More than 50 personnel were involved including surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists and transplant coordinators.
Surgeons had to connect nerves, blood vessels, muscles, tendons and bone structure.
But the patient, a man in his 20s who has not been identified, was obliged to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life.
Traffic accident
In an interview with the newspaper 20 minutos around eight months after the transplant, Cavadas said the patient was moving his legs in the swimming pool and the recovery was going “very well”.
The man had had both legs amputated above the knee after a traffic accident.
The height of the amputation prevented him from using a prosthesis, meaning that he would have been consigned to a wheelchair with “zero” chance of walking again, the transplant surgeon said at the time.
In October 2008, Cavadas carried out the first double arm transplant in Spain and the second in the world.
In August 2009 he performed Spain’s first face transplant on a patient who has since died of a pre-existing and unrelated illness. The Hospital La Fe gave no details and asked media to respect the privacy of relatives of the donor and recipient.
Spain has become a world leader in organ donation since it set up a network of transplant coordinators in 1989 at all hospitals to closely monitor emergency wards and identify potential donors.
“The Spanish transplant programme is a model because of the altruism and solidarity shown by donors,” the Hospital La Fe said.
- © AFP 2013.
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These jokes are in bad taste. That man has been through enough. He lost his legs only to be given a lifeline which undoubtedly took months and months of rehabilitation only for a stroke of bad luck to have his chance of walking taken away from him. Nothing funny about any of that. Imagine if it was someone in your own family who suffered like this.
If it was someone in my family they’d expect jokes like these to try to ease the tension.
But then you don’t know my family and aren’t really in a position to judge us.
For instance my Dad had major heart surgery and they put a pig valve in him, after the surgery I asked him “So … will you still be able to eat sausages?” You’d probably think that was an awful thing to say but he found it quite funny.
So don’t judge.
@ Damocles. Except you don’t know this man so how are you supposed to know how he is going to react to jokes such as the ones made here. I’m of the opinion the jokes are in bad taste, that is not judging you.
I’d rather assume that a person is an upbeat humourous type than a miserable old curmudgeon.
Looking at his photo he looks quite friendly, good beardage at the very least.
@ Damocles. Except that is a picture of the doctor who lead the surgery, not the patient.
If you cartoonise him and slap a pair of glasses on him, he might even look a tad like yourself. By the way thats the doctor in the photo
If that guy was my doctor I’d feel upbeat.
The basic point still stands:
I’d rather assume that a person is an upbeat humourous type than a miserable old curmudgeon.
Yep usually guys that loose 4 legs are great target practice for jokes
@ Damocles. Except people who experience such extensive surgery are not always going to be upbeat. Such an experience can have a very negative affect on the person through no fault of their own.
Niamh, neither of us know how this chap is reacting. We can only assume and at the risk of repeating myself … Iâd rather assume that a person is an upbeat humourous type than a miserable old curmudgeon.
@ Damocles. Exactly “like this”. And while I certainly hope all is okay with your father, the two situations are extremely different. All I’m saying is that given his situation and, as you pointed out, neither of us know how he reacted, a little sensitivity would be a more positive reaction to this story.
Laughter is the best medicine.
Curmudgeonly complaining never helped anyone.
Funny in part due to the fact that he was recovering and would continue to do so! This man has now been confined to a wheelchair again for the rest of his life which actually has more long term health implications than just mobility! So yes, your jokes are in bad taste!
You need to give your opinions a break from the journal.
Laughter is the best medicine, but not at someone else’s expense, Damocles. I shouldn’t think this poor man is overly amused at present. If he has to stop taking his immunosuppressants it must be for quite a serious illness.
True Hassan and he should give the Journal a break.
Do ye reckon the patient will be reading the journal.ie then? A sense of humour never killed anyone, lighten up!
Think of all the money he’ll save on shoes.
“I shouldn’t think this poor man is overly amused at present.”
Well that’s the nub then isn’t it. You prefer to think that in adversity people dwell in despair and misery.
I prefer to think that faced with adversity people have the option to be hopeful and upbeat.
Glass half empty, Mary?
No, Damocles. But I’d say this man feels his glass is pretty empty at the moment. There he was with two perfectly functioning legs only to have them snatched away from him because of some illness which he was unfortunate enough to get. Talk about a double whammy! He may very well see the funny side of it later on but I suspect that he’s not feeling too chipper right now. (Always assuming this didn’t happen weeks or months ago).
I don’t think it’s your assumption to make Damocles – and you’re setting a false dichotomy there where the person is either a good spirited cheeky chappy about the loss of his legs (AGAIN) or a curmudgeon who can’t take a joke and lashes out at people who dare to smile.
He could be a young man who has faced a devastating loss and would like people to show a bit of sensitivity at a time like this.
Either way – you don’t know him, neither do I, and the safer assumption is to be respectful, and not a dick.
To lose one leg may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.
To lose them both a second time … that’s just reckless.
Can’t see contacting an illness as reckless, not like he went outside without a jumper now
Oh. My. God.
Not you, the other one.
Not all that funny a comment really, Damocles.
Jumper – boom boom!
”Well you gotta ask yourself, what were his legs doing in a previous life”
Glenn Hoddle
I’d say he missed a few payments!!
What a headline! Needed a few minutes 2stop laughing before I could read the article. .
Sick fool
Jonny,
You should be ashamed of yourself
You’re a funny guy jonny, what do you want to be when you’re a big boy?
@Justin:
I wanna b d guy bangin ur mom (mature enough come back 4u?)
Jonny the dudes name is called bob. Get it bob
Ill dig her up for you jonny
Amazing the amount of people who seem determined to take offence on this guy’s behalf.
pig headed, never wrong, u probably get it from your father.
Hope you don’t take offence to the joke
I wouldn’t say I was never wrong, rarely wrong covers it.
You’re the joke expert, you’ll work it out.
Little hint though maybe the op had nothing to do with it.
Damocles some folk just can’t take a joke!
Dont mind em..say what you want, its a free world..some people are just oozing compassion and empathy and cant stand people saying”distasteful”stuff.they cry at the thought of poor humpty lying broken on the floor…their problem not yours!
Hahaha you got to say that headline made you laugh, the poor c#@t.
Load of hokey kokey!
Gives a new meaning to legless…….
Maybe if they gave him Red Bull next time? It gives you wings. Sorted.
You know they originally put a woman’s legs on him.
Bioengineering expirements are ongoing in Ireland now. They are interfacing people with the microchip.
The docs in big trouble, ,,, hasn’t got a leg ta stand on , ( whistles in air)
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