Voicebox transplant given the go-ahead

Professor Martin Birchall, from University College London (UCL), will lead a team carrying out the procedure on a man or woman whose voicebox has been damaged by cancer or accident, such as swallowing caustic liquids.

Around 1,000 Britons each year have their voicebox (also known as larynx) destroyed, making swallowing, breathing and speaking difficult or impossible.

Other movements – such as straining, coughing, smelling, tasting and even kissing – are problematic.

In October, an American woman, Brenda Jensen, became the first in the world to have a combined voicebox and windpipe transplant. The first ever transplant was carried out in Ohio in 1998 on Timothy Heidler, whose voicebox was damaged in a motorbike accident.

Now, experts at the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in London have given their approval for the first ever procedure in the UK.

Prof Birchall, 49, said with the right preparations, a transplant could take place early next year.

Patients will need a lifetime of immunosuppressant drugs to stop their body rejecting the organ.

Prof Birchall, who is professor of laryngology at UCL, said a team of six surgeons will be required for the 18-hour operation, which will be carried out at the Royal Free Hospital in north west London.

It is not clear how patients with a transplanted voicebox will sound after the operation. A person’s accent is essentially formed by the way the lips, palate, cheeks and tongue move. More research is needed on nerve regeneration, which is essential for the transplanted voicebox to be functional.

Experts have recommended the procedure, which will be part of clinical trials, only for patients who have suffered irreversible trauma or injury to their voicebox, or who have undergone a laryngectomy after suffering a benign or low-grade malignant tumour