Professor Martin Birchall
Links: - Professor Martin Birchall - The Wellcome Trust - UC Davis Health System - UCL Partners - UCL Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine In one of the most complex transplant surgeries ever performed, an international team of surgeons which included Professor Martin Birchall (UCL Ear Institute) has restored the voice of a US woman who had been unable to speak for more than a decade. The surgical team announced today that they replaced the larynx (voicebox), thyroid gland and trachea (windpipe) in a 52-year-old woman who had lost her ability to speak and breathe on her own. The 18-hour operation, which took place over a two-day period in October 2010, is only the second documented case of its kind in the world. Just 13 days after the operation, Brenda Charett Jensen voiced her first words in 11 years and is now able to speak easily and at length. She said: "This operation has restored my life. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity. It is a miracle.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
