Mayo Clinic marks medical milestone with world’s first known successful total larynx transplant performed in a patient with an active cancer as part of a clinical trial
PHOENIX — Mayo Clinic announces a groundbreaking achievement in organ transplantation, offering hope to thousands who have lost their ability to speak, swallow and breathe on their own due to diminished function or loss of their larynx. A multidisciplinary team of doctors in Arizona performed the third known total larynx transplant in the U.S. The case also marks a medical milestone as the first known total larynx transplant performed as part of a clinical trial and the first on a patient with active cancer in the U.S.
"The surgery and patient's progress have exceeded our expectations," says David Lott, M.D., chair of the Department of Otolaryngology (ENT) - Head and Neck Surgery/Audiology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "This is a tremendous accomplishment in launching what we believe is the future for laryngeal transplantation."
A paper by Dr. Lott on the case was published July 9 in the peer-reviewed medical journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The larynx, located in the throat, is commonly known as the voice box. Larynx transplantation is a rare and complex procedure, performed only a handful of times in the world. Even more notably, Mayo Clinic's surgical team successfully performed the larynx transplant on a patient with an active cancer, making it one of the first cases of its kind globally.
