US- World's first skull and scalp transplant performed in Texas

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A man whose cancer left him with severe damage to the top of the head has received what his doctors in Houston describe as the first skull and scalp transplant, the MD Anderson Cancer Centre said yesterday.

James Boysen, 55-year-old software developer from Austin, received the craniofacial tissue transplant at the same time as a kidney and pancreas transplant at Houston Methodist Hospital on May 22 in surgeries that lasted nearly a day, it said. "For this patient, it means a new lease on life," said Jesse Selber, reconstructive plastic surgeon and co-leader of the team that performed the intricate surgery.

"He had series of cancers of the scalp and skull that were treated with surgeries and radiation that left him with a large wound that was all the way down to his brain," Selber said.

A photo of Boysen after the surgery shows him with sutures in a ring around the top of his head, about an inch above his ears, where the transplanted skull and scalp were attached.

Boysen already had kidney and pancreas transplants, and those organs were failing.

The surgeons conducted all transplants at the same time using the same donor because it offered the best chance of preventing organ and tissue rejection.

"I'm amazed at how great I feel and am forever grateful that I have another chance to get back to doing things I love and be with people I love," Boysen said.

He was released from the hospital yesterday and will spend the next few weeks at a residence used by those recovering from transplants.

Coordinating transplants and planning the surgeries took more than two years. Over 50 healthcare professionals were involved, including microsurgeons, neurosurgeons and reconstructive surgeons, the centre added.