World’s first face and hands transplant gives New Jersey man a second chance at life

Joe Dimeo had not been able to smile for two years after he fell asleep at the wheel of his car in New Jersey. Dimeo’s car flipped over and burst into flames. 

Luckily, someone pulled him out of his car before it exploded. However, Dimeo suffered third degree burns over almost 80% of his body. The fire left him without eyelids, ears, and most of his fingers. His face was also scarred and was left with limited motion in his neck.

In a 23 hour surgery, doctors at NYU Langone Medical Center completed the world’s first face and hands transplant and Joe Dimeo was the recipient.

According to Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, “He’s the most highly motivated patient I’ve ever met.” The surgery occurred last August, however, the doctors waited to call the operation a success in order to be sure the transplants were not rejected. 

“There have been over a hundred hand transplants performed successfully, and close to 50 face transplants,” Rodriguez said. “So fundamentally there was no reason why they couldn’t occur together, successfully.”

Of the only two prior attempts to complete this type of surgery, both were unsuccessful. 

See Evan Simko-Bednarski, World’s first face and hands transplant gives New Jersey man a second chance at life, CNN, February 3, 2021. 

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.