World's first double leg transplant carried out in Spain

A Spanish medical team has carried out the world's first double leg transplant, hospital sources said in the eastern city of Valencia, dpa reported.

The young patient could not use prostheses, making a transplant the only alternative to him spending his life in a wheelchair, medical team leader Pedro Cavadas said earlier.

The operation was authorized in May 2010, but the medical team needed to wait for a donor.

The operation, which lasted an entire night, was performed at Valencia's La Fe hospital. Cavadas has also previously carried out face and arm transplants.

The main difficulty in leg transplants is getting the nerves to function properly, the daily El Mundo said on its website.


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