Woman regains speech thanks to larynx transplant

A woman has been unable to speak for 20 years after a heart attack damaged her larynx. Her voice is still fragile, but Karine has made enormous progress thanks to a transplant just a year ago. “I am more independent. Because before, I always depended on someone, to phone, to make appointments”the woman said. The larynx is an organ located below the throat, a tube barely 10 centimeters long that allows you to speak, breathe and eat. Her daughters had never heard the sound of her voice.

The operation lasted 27 hours and was carried out by twelve surgeons who took turns night and day, a first in France, with very encouraging results. There are still some difficulties to resolve with eating. The voice should improve within a year. A daily task that is both physical and psychological. In France, two more larynx transplants should be carried out in the next few years.