VOA慢速英语--罕见双重移植手术:美国一男子得到新的脸和双手

'New Chance at Life:’ Man Gets Face, Hands in Rare Operation

A rare face and hands transplant changed Joe DiMeo's life six months ago. A transplant is a medical operation in which an organ or body part is removed from one person and attached to another person.

DiMeo is 22 years old and comes from the state of New Jersey¹. He had the operation last August. He received the new face and hands two years after being badly burned in a car crash.

Today, he is relearning how to do simple movements. He works on smiling and opening and closing his eyes. With his new hands, he is relearning actions like squeezing and pinching.

"I knew it would be baby steps all the way," DiMeo told The Associated Press. "You've got to have a lot of motivation, a lot of patience. And you've got to stay strong through everything."

Experts say the operation appears to be a success. But they warn it will take some time to know for sure. Doctors at New York University's medical center NYU Langone Health performed the surgery.

Worldwide, surgeons have completed at least 18 face transplants and 35 hand transplants. Those numbers come from the United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees² the U.S. transplant system. But it is extremely rare to get a face and double hand transplant at the same time. The operation had only been tried two times before.

The first attempt was in 2009 on a patient in Paris, France. That patient died one month later from problems related to the surgery. Two years later, doctors in Boston, Massachusetts, attempted the operation on a woman who had been attacked by a chimpanzee. Days later, doctors had to remove the hands.

Dr. Bohdan Pomahac is a surgeon at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. He led the second attempt. "The fact they could pull it off is phenomenal," he said of the doctors who operated on DiMeo.

DiMeo will have to take medications for the rest of his life to prevent his body from rejecting the transplants. He also will continue with treatment and exercises to help him gain sensation and movement in his new face and hands.

In 2018, DiMeo fell asleep while driving, he said, after working overnight as a product tester for a drug company. His car hit the edge of the street and then a structure. It rolled over and caught on fire. Another driver who saw the accident pulled over to rescue DiMeo from the burning car.

After the accident, doctors used drugs to keep him in a deep sleep called a coma³. He had 20 surgeries and special operations on his skin to treat his extensive burns.

His doctors realized, however, that usual surgeries could not help DiMeo regain⁴ use of his face, eyes or hands. So, his medical team began preparing for the risky⁵ transplants in early 2019.

But almost immediately, the NYU team dealt with difficulties, including finding a donor⁶. Doctors estimated DiMeo only had a six percent chance of finding a donor whose hands and face would work for his immune system. Doctors also wanted to find someone of the same sex and skin color.

During the search for a donor, the COVID-19 health crisis hit. Organ donations dropped sharply. During New York City's increase in virus cases, doctors in the transplant area in the hospital were asked to work with COVID-19 patients instead.

In early August, the team finally identified a donor in Delaware. The 23-hour operation happened a few days later.

Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez led the medical team of more than 140 people. He said that, so far, DiMeo has not shown any signs of rejecting his new face or hands.

Since leaving the hospital in November, DiMeo has been working with rehabilitation⁷ specialists to relearn many physical movements. "Rehab is pretty intense," DiMeo said. The work involves "retraining yourself to do stuff on your own again," he added.

DiMeo, who lives with his parents, can now dress and feed himself. He can take part in some sports. He can also play with his dog, Buster.

"You got a new chance at life," DiMeo said. "You really can't give up."

Words in This Story

smile –v. to turn up the corners of your mouth in an expression of happiness or pleasure

motivation –n. the act or process of giving someone a reason to do something

surgery –n. a medical operation

phenomenal –adj. very good or great; impressive

rehabilitation –n. the process of bringing a person back to a healthy condition after an illness or health problem

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

3 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。

4 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

5 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

6 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

7 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。