In a medical first, a French surgeon says he has performed a second face transplant on the same patient — who is now doing well and even spent a recent weekend in Brittany.
In this undated combination handout photo provided on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 by HEGP AP-HP, Jerome Hamon before and after two transplants. (HEGP AP-HP via AP)
Dr. Laurent Lantieri of the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris first transplanted a new face onto Jerome Hamon in 2010, when Hamon was in his mid-30s. But after getting ill in 2015, Hamon was given drugs that interfered with the anti-rejection medicines he was taking for his face transplant.
Last November, the tissue in his transplanted face began to die, leading Lantieri to remove it.
That left Hamon without a face, a condition that Lantieri described as "the walking dead." Hamon had no eyelids, no ears, no skin and could not speak or eat. He had limited hearing and could express himself only by turning his head slightly, in addition to writing a little.
"If you have no skin, you have infections," Lantieri told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. "We were very concerned about the possibility of a new rejection."
In January, when a second face donor for Hamon became available, Lantieri and his team performed a second face transplant. But before undergoing the second transplant, doctors had to replace all of the blood in his body in a monthlong procedure, to eliminate some potentially worrisome antibodies from previous treatments.
In this undated combination handout photo provided on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 by HEGP AP-HP, surgeons perform a face transplant on Jerome Hamon. (HEGP AP-HP via AP)
"For a man who went through all this, which is like going through a nuclear war, he's doing fine," Lantieri said. He added that Hamon is now being monitored like any other face transplant patient.
Hamon's first face was donated by a 60-year-old. With his second transplanted face, Hamon said he managed to drop a few decades.
"I'm 43. The donor was 22. So I've become 20 years younger," Hamon joked on French television Tuesday.
Other doctors applauded the French team's efforts and said the techniques could be used to help critically ill patients with few options.
"The fact that Professor Lantieri was able to save this patient gives us hope that other patients can have a backup surgery if necessary," said Dr. Frank Papay, of the Cleveland Clinic, who performed the first face transplant in the U.S.
He said the techniques being developed by Lantieri and others could help doctors achieve what he called "the holy grail" of transplant medicine: allowing patients to tolerate tissue transplants from others.
Dr. Bohdan Pomahac of Harvard University, who has done face transplants in the U.S., said similar procedures would ultimately become more common, with rising numbers of patients.
"The more we see what's happening with (face transplant) patients, the more we have to accept that chronic rejection is a reality," Pomahac said. "Face transplants will become essentially non-functional, distorted and that may be a good time to consider re-transplanting."
He said it's still unknown how long face transplants might last, but guessed they might be similar to kidneys, which generally last about 10 to 15 years.
"Maybe some patients will get lucky and their faces will last longer. But it will probably be more common that some will have to be replaced," he said, noting there are still many unknowns about when chronic rejection might occur.
Lantieri said he and his team would soon publish their findings in a medical journal but he hoped cases like Hamon would remain the exception.
"The other patients I'm following, some have had some alteration of their transplant over time, but they are doing fine," he said. "I hope not to do any future transplants like this."
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Deshaun Watson is pleased with the velocity on his passes. At least there's one aspect of his recovery from shoulder surgery with some speed.
The Browns quarterback said Tuesday that he's following a conservative rehab plan set up by his doctor and the team's training staff as he recovers from major surgery in November that ended his second season in Cleveland after just six games.
Watson, who suffered a fracture to the glenoid bone in his throwing shoulder, said his rehab has gone according to schedule and that there haven't been any setbacks.
He's been throwing pain free and without any issues.
“Everything is fluid motion, no hinging,” Watson said, raising his arm to demonstrate. ”When I'm throwing, everything is fluid and motion is really good. The velocity and the strength is really good."
But while giving a positive medical report, the 28-year-old Watson didn't have a timetable for when he'll be 100% and he expressed some frustration at not being able to do more.
“It can be sooner than later, it can be later than sooner,” he said.
Watson said he isn't sure if he'll take part in practices this spring and pushed any decisions about him playing in preseason games this summer off on Browns general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski.
Watson reported to the team's training facility on Monday for the start of the voluntary offseason program. Per NFL rules, the team is limited to individual workouts and classroom sessions.
He's been abiding by the advice he's gotten from Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the renowned sports orthopedist who did his surgery and has an extensive background in working with baseball players with injuries similar to Watson's.
ElAttrache has urged Watson to take it slow, which isn't always easy for the QB.
“Naturally for myself, I try to do a little bit more,” he said. “But (Browns head trainer) Joe (Sheehan) and those guys are keeping me tamed and making sure that I’m just doing exactly what the program says. If it’s eight reps, then do eight reps. Don’t try to do too much.”
Watson said a decision on whether he participates in OTAs next month hasn't been made.
“We got to see how these next couple of weeks go,” Watson said. ”Dr. ElAttrache wants to be a little bit more conservative just because it was a joint. So he wants to really make sure that we’re not doing too much and other experts that was a part of it said the same thing.
“You want to be a little bit more conservative this summer and get ready for training camp, that’s when there’s going to be a time where we can pick that up.”
Watson said ElAttrache was amazed he played as long as he did with the painful injury.
Despite hearing “clicking sounds” in his shoulder, Watson played the second half against Baltimore on Nov. 12 — he completed all 14 passes after halftime in the comeback win — before an MRI following the game revealed the fracture.
Watson said it was possible he broke the bone as early as Sept. 24, when he took a big hit against Tennessee in Week 3. He was in and out of the lineup for several weeks following that game with shoulder issues.
When he finally had surgery, Watson said ElAttrache repaired the fracture and a partial tear of the labrum, which helps stabilize the shoulder.
“So when the glenoid came off the bone, the labrum was the one that was hanging on the bone,” Watson said. “He had to pretty much repair that and put that together. He made sure the labrum was good.”
The Browns signed Watson to a fully guaranteed $230 million contract in 2022 after trading three first-round draft picks and other selections to the Houston Texans for the three-time Pro Bowler.
Watson served an 11-game league suspension in 2022 following sexual abuse and harassment allegations made against him by two dozen massage therapists in Texas.
There has been some frustration, but Watson said he's grown from his experience.
“I’ve learned how to be patient the last three years," he said. "It’s honestly just staying focused and on track of what they’re allowing me to do and just taking it one step at a time. And if I can do that and focus on myself to be the better person and be the better teammate and player that I can be through this process, then I think that’s the best thing.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
FILE - Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) scrambles as he looks to throw a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, in Baltimore. Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson said he's following a conservative plan as he recovers from major shoulder surgery, but that he's been able to throw at full speed. “Everything is fluid motion, no hinging,” Watson said Tuesday, April 16, 2024, raising his arm to demonstrate. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)
