For the first time in the world a
post-COVID patient has received a total transplant of the
trachea, at Rome's Sant'Andrea Hospital, a press conference was
told in the capital Thursday.
The March 3 operation was on a 50-year-old man whose trachea
had been destroyed by cancer and years of treatment, doctors
said.
It was a complete success, said thoracic surgeon Cecilia Menna,
who led the operation.
"The patient was able to speak, breathe and swallow on his own
immediately afterwards," she said.
The trachea was replaced by a piece of the aorta, kept open by a
silicone cylinder, she said.
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