In honor of CNN choosing this event as one of its pictures of 2021, I want to re-share this post about a medical miracle that took place at my training institution shortly after I left!

As many of you may have seen in the news, it was announced in 2021 that the world’s first successful face & double hand transplant has taken place at NYU Langone Health in NYC.

This is nothing short of a medical miracle.

I also take particular pride in the accomplishment and it holds a special place in my heart.

I did not take part in the operation as it took place on August 12, 2020. This is about a month and a half after I finished my training at NYU. Before that, I was a part of the team led by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez training to perform this procedure.

For 12 months, the team of surgeons, doctors, nurses, scrub techs, researchers met on the weekends for hours to practice and prepare for this surgery which ended up taking about 23 hours to complete. This preparation under the leadership of Dr. Rodriguez is why I never doubted that the ultimate procedure would be a success despite the major risks involved.

It was an experience that I am so grateful for and will never forget.

I cannot do justice in this small space to share all of the details of the procedure or what makes it along with all of the people involved in making it happen so special.

For a full recap, visit the NYU Langone website here!

You can also learn more about everything that plastic surgeons actually do here.

What do you think? What medical miracles stand out to you the most? Let me know in the comments below!