Voice Box Transplant

[Lewis]

Brenda Jensen's voice restored after larynx transplant


Doctors recorded Brenda Jensen's first words - courtesy UC Davis and UCL

A woman in the US is able to speak for the first time in 11 years after a pioneering voicebox transplant.



Brenda Jensen said the operation, which took place in California, was a miracle which had restored her life.
Thirteen days after the surgery she said her first words: "Good morning, I want to go home."
It is the first time a voicebox and windpipe have been transplanted at the same time and only the second time a voice box has ever been transplanted.
[video=youtube;iWFebzW8EoI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWFebzW8EoI[/video]
Ms Jensen, 52, had been unable to speak on her own since her voicebox was damaged during surgery in 1999.
The tube used to keep her airways open injured her throat and scar tissue stopped her breathing.
Since then, she has been unable to taste or smell food, could breathe only through a hole in her windpipe and could talk only with the help of an electronic voice box.
In October, surgeons at the University of California Davis Medical Centre removed the larynx (voicebox), thyroid gland and 6cm of the trachea (windpipe) from a donor body.
In an 18-hour operation this was transplanted into Ms Jensen's throat and the team connected it to her blood supply and nerves.
Thirteen days later she was able to speak her first croaky words and is now able to talk easily for long periods of time.
Ms Jensen said: "This operation has restored my life. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity.
"It is a miracle, I'm talking, talking, talking, which just amazes my friends and family."
She is also learning how to swallow again.
"Every day is a new beginning for me. I'm working so hard to use my vocal cords and train my muscles to swallow.
"I'll probably never sing in a choir or anything, but it's exciting to talk normally and I cant wait to eat and drink and swim again."

The 18 hour operation was only the second voicebox transplant ever
Professor Martin Birchall, from University College London, who was part of the surgery team, said: "The larynx is one of the most sophisticated neuromuscular organs in the body."
"We've learned that we can repair nerves to make even very complex organs function again. It'll open the door to better facial transplants and will be extremely important as tissue engineering develops."
A voicebox transplant might be life changing, but it is not lifesaving.
The procedure is rare, the only other documented case took place at the Cleveland Clinic in 1998.
Everyone who receives a transplant must take drugs to suppress the immune system for the rest of their lives.
These drugs can reduce life expectancy so are normally reserved for life saving procedures.
One of the reasons Ms Jensen was suitable for this transplant was because she was already taking immunosuppresing drugs after a kidney-pancreas transplant four years ago.
Professor Peter Belafsky, part of the surgical team, said: "Brenda was an exceptional candidate for the transplant because she was highly motivated.
"Anyone who's met Brenda knows that she is a strong and determined individual with a terrific outlook on life despite the many physical challenges she's faced over her lifetime."

 

[Vic C.]

That is simply amazing!

 

[Lewis]

And here is another one. Roger Ebert has been given half a face.

Roger Ebert Will Wear Prosthesis for New Review Show

When film critic Roger Ebert announced his new review program, "Ebert Presents at the Movies," which premieres tomorrow, it was understood that the bulk of the show would be hosted by AP critic Christy Lemire and newcomer Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, in part because Ebert's cancer surgeries had required the removal of most of his mandible. For those familiar with his appearance on the Oscar red carpet or on "Siskel & Ebert," the change in his face after the surgeries was quite shocking, especially when it was featured so prominently in Chris Jones' fantastic Esquire profile from last year. But Ebert will be returning to television for the new show, in which he'll contribute a weekly segment called "Roger's Office." And for the program, he'll be debuting a new look, literally: He'll be wearing a prosthetic to cover his lower face.

Related: Meet Ebert's new co-hosts >>>​

Late last night, Ebert broke the news on his blog, revealing for the first time the "two-year process that has now resulted with my coming into possession of a silicone prosthesis." Using 3-D photos of Ebert and a bust made by a friend of his during art school years earlier, a team including doctors and an anaplastologist came up with a "device [that] would fit over my lower face and neck and, colored to match my skin, would pass muster at a certain distance." To demonstrate the craftsmanship of the work, Ebert even included a picture of himself wearing the prosthesis.
We have to say, the time spent getting this done right has paid off: It's pretty impressive work. People who grew up watching Ebert will most assuredly notice the difference, but in case Ebert or others worried that his surgery-disfigured face might scare off viewers, the new prosthesis will go a long way toward reassuring the skittish.
Still, that isn't the only change that people will notice with Ebert. The surgeries also robbed him of his voice in 2006, but he's gotten around the problem thanks to CereProc, a Scottish company that gave him a new digital voice compiled from Ebert's old audio recordings. (He debuted it on "Oprah" back in March, and it was shockingly similar to his actual voice.) So, even though Ebert has been through a lot in his cancer bouts, he'll very much be back tomorrow.

Photo: Veterinary surgeon fashions prosthetic paws for injured cat>>​

Except, of course, that Ebert has hardly been gone: In the last few years, he's been more prolific than he ever has, writing reviews and commentaries at a dizzying rate of consistent excellence. But, as he wrote in that same blog post, even as he prepares to unveil these changes on the show tomorrow, he knows he's not fooling anyone:
At the beginning of this process I assumed I would wear the new prosthesis whenever I left the house, so that "nobody would know." But everybody knows. The photograph of me that appeared in Esquire even found its way onto billboards in China. And something else has happened ... I accept the way I look. Lord knows I paid the dues.
Indeed. Seriously, none of us are ever allowed to complain about writer's block again after what he's been through. When we were kids, Roger Ebert was one of the writers who got us inspired about the art of film criticism. Nowadays, that inspiration extends far beyond movies to how to live life to the very, very fullest.




Roger Ebert Will Wear Prosthesis for New Review Show - MOVIE TALK on Yahoo! Movies