Cancer patient regains voice after world’s first successful full larynx transplant

The larynx is the part of the throat that contains the vocal cords and allows a person to breathe, swallow, and speak.

Thanks to the pioneering transplant performed by the Mayo Clinic, Marty Kedian’s voice has gradually returned. He has already regained regarding 60 percent of his vocal function.

“The surgery and the patient’s progress have exceeded our expectations,” said David Lott, M.D., of the Department of Otolaryngology (ENT), head and neck surgery/audiology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. “This is a tremendous achievement in launching what we believe is the future of laryngeal transplantation.”

This successful transplant offers hope to patients who cannot speak, swallow or breathe due to throat problems.

For nearly two decades, Dr. David Lott and his team at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix have been investigating laryngeal transplants.

The team met Kedian, who became the first patient in the world to successfully undergo a full larynx transplant, and who is now beginning to regain his voice.

A laryngeal transplant is a complex surgical procedure that replaces the patient’s larynx and surrounding structures. Only a few have been performed worldwide.

According to a press release, Kedian received the third full larynx transplant ever performed in the United States, and “the first for a patient with active cancer in the United States.”

The surgical team first removed a rare form of throat cancer known as chondrosarcoma. After the cancer was removed, the transplant was performed.

A multidisciplinary team performed a 21-hour surgery, transplanting Kedian’s larynx, pharynx (upper throat), upper trachea, upper esophagus (food pipe), thyroid and parathyroid glands (which regulate hormones), as well as vital blood vessels and nerves.

The transplant was performed as part of the first clinical trial for laryngeal transplantation in the United States. This paves the way for making this rare procedure available to more patients who need it most.

“This clinical trial allows us to conduct a real scientific investigation aimed at conducting comprehensive research into the safety and effectiveness of laryngeal transplantation as a reliable option for patients,” said Dr. Lott.

Four months following the surgery, the results were life-changing for Kedian, who had spent years battling cancer and undergoing numerous surgeries that had taken a toll on him, losing his voice and ability to swallow normally, and eventually needing a tracheostomy (a breathing hole in his neck) to breathe. This had a significant impact on his overall quality of life.

He can now speak once more. According to the press release, he can also swallow and breathe independently, regaining a quality of life he thought was lost forever.

Doctors said the tracheostomy tube would be removed once he was able to breathe normally once more.

A detailed report of this case was published in the medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

It is worth noting that the Russian Gamaleya Center is currently conducting pre-clinical trials on a revolutionary cancer vaccine, which will be produced specifically for each individual case with the help of artificial intelligence operating with “high-level” Russian software, according to the center’s director, Alexander Gintsburg.

If clinical trials of the new vaccine are successfully completed, it will help fight various types of cancer for which there are no effective treatments yet, including some types of skin cancer, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer.

Source: Interesting Engineering