It’s a new day for Joe DiMeo.
For the first time in history, doctors at New York University’s Langone medical center have successfully undertaken a simultaneous face and bilateral hand transplant, giving DiMeo, 22, a future he never could have dreamed of three years ago after a devastating car accident.
On Wednesday, Aug. 12, a team of more than 140 surgeons, nurses and other hospital staff were on hand during the 23-hour surgery.
The most astounding aspect of the operation wasn’t the well-orchestrated symphony of doctors. It was Joe himself.
“There’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Joe, from Clark, NJ, told The Post of his amazing transformation. “Never give up and never let your appearance slow you down. Always look at the good things.”
Joe’s long road to recovery was led by Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, one of NYU’s preeminent plastic surgeons.
“His spirit is so strong,” Rodriguez told The Post of Joe, who was involved in what should have been a fatal car accident in July 2018 after he fell asleep at the wheel. His car burst into flames.
The odds were stacked against Joe, who underwent 20 reconstructive surgeries to address widespread third-degree burns that covered over 80% of his body. His injuries were extensive, including amputated fingers and severe facial scarring that left him without lips or eyelids.
But since then, Joe has embodied the definition of a survivor. “He knew in his mind that this was not going to be the end of him,” Rodriguez said.
Joe decided to go public with his story out of a sense of duty: “I feel like it’s a big step in science,” Joe said. “I’m pretty proud to be a part of it.”
Even after so many procedures to try to put him back together again, “he was still a functional cripple,” said Rodriguez. In order to take the next step toward becoming an independent adult again, “conventional surgery was not going to solve his problems.”
That’s when the team at NYU’s Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery decided to begin their search for Joe’s donor match — a single candidate with not only a viable face and limbs, but a blood panel that wouldn’t send Joe’s highly sensitized immune system into rejection.
Due to multiple blood transfusions and skin grafts immediately following the accident, the probability of finding a compatible donor was down to a mere 6%. But a donor, who remains anonymous, arrived at NYU on Aug. 10, 2020. Two days later, Joe received his new hands and face.
Joe’s donor was fitted with replica parts thanks to three-dimensional photography and printing technology provided by NYU’s LaGuardia Studio, using a soft-silicone material that mimics human skin. “It looks so perfect,” said Dr. Rodriguez
“Despite the fact that they’re now declared deceased … we still respect the dignity of the donor,” he added. “It’s important for us to continue to care for the donor because that patient is still our patient.”
The team completed the 23-hour surgery at breakneck speed. They waited until now to announce the success of the operation, since often, many similar transplants don’t go as well.
Nevertheless, Rodriguez never lost hope, even while he was temporarily transferred to the pandemic front lines last year.
“Despite the fact that our priorities changed, and we had to care for patients that were in dire straits, in the back of our mind [we] never stopped thinking about identifying Joe’s donor,” said Rodriguez.
Over the past few months, Joe has made incredible strides, achieving small milestones all the time — getting dressed, walking the dogs, taking a shower — often right under his doting parents’ noses.
“We get surprised,” said father John DiMeo, who described the shock of discovering his once-debilitated son grabbing food from the refrigerator on his own, or playing pool in the basement. “We didn’t know that [happened] until we heard the balls banging around!” he proclaimed, with a tone of both excitement and exasperation.
In turn, his unstoppable progress keeps his parents energized, too. “It gives us power,” said mom, Rose, who worked in childcare until she began caring for her son full time.
Along with his son’s dogged determination and self-discipline, John, who is also at home on disability, insisted that his wife Rose was key to Joe’s recovery.
“He lucked out with having her for a mother,” he told The Post. “[She has] the patience of a saint.”
Joe agreed. “She’s like my sidekick.”
His next big goal: driving again.
“[But] I’m not trying to rush into it,” Joe added. “Plus the DMVs are closed — I can’t change my license picture.”
On a more serious note, he insists that his new appearance hasn’t changed him.
“I’m still the same guy, you know, before the surgery and after surgery,” he said. “Even before the burns I was still the same guy. Just my stages of life. I just keep rolling with the punches and keep moving on. Nothing really holds me back.”
