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Health: a patient benefits from a larynx transplant for the first time in France
A patient benefited from a larynx transplant, a first in France. The intervention was carried out in September. Her children were able to hear their mother speak for the first time in their lives. – (France 2)
A patient benefited from a larynx transplant, a first in France. The intervention was carried out in September. Her children were able to hear their mother speak for the first time in their lives.
For the first time in 27 years, Karine’s vocal cords vibrate again. In 1996, following a trauma to the larynx, she loses the use of her voice. Almost miraculously, she is the first patient in France to benefit from a larynx transplant. A medical feat made possible thanks to the hard work of a dozen surgeons, during an operation last September. “A 27-hour day in the operating room, an operation which, in total, lasted 22 hours. Clearly, it was a marathon”says Professor Philippe Céruse, head of the department ENT to the hospital Red Cross from Lyon (Rhône).
A small organ measuring ten centimeters
The larynx, this small ten-centimeter organ, has been meticulously taken on a donor. This is the fourth transplant in the world. Long months of rehabilitation are still necessary before Karine fully regains the use of her voice. Her children were able to hear their mother speak for the first time in their lives.
