In a groundbreaking surgical procedure, a medical team in Lyon successfully performed a laryngeal transplant on a woman, enabling her to regain her ability to speak. The patient, Karen, 49 years old, who has only been identified by her first name, had been breathing through a tracheostomy for nearly twenty years and was unable to talk due to complications related to intubation following a heart attack in 1996.
A few days after the transplant, which took place on September 2 and 3, Karen was able to say a few words. Since then, she has been undergoing rehabilitation sessions for her vocal cords, swallowing, and breathing, along with speech therapy, in hopes of permanently restoring her ability to speak. Her immunosuppressive treatment was also enhanced due to an initial rejection of the transplanted organ. However, she was able to return to her home in southern France on October 26.
