On June 15, 10-year-old David was traveling with his family in a van on the Mediterranean highway, the AP-7, when suddenly, near the Castellón town of Benicarló, an accident changed his life. The child was rushed by helicopter to the Hospital La Fe in Valencia, from where it was decided to move him back to the Hospital de Manises, due to the severity of the injuries suffered.The impact had basically severed his feet at the ankle.
The normal thing would have been to close the stump and place a prosthesis with which he would walk, badly or well, for the rest of his life. However, Dr. Pedro Cavadas crossed her path and changed her future. After six hours of surgery, both limbs were reimplanted, one slightly above the ankle and the other in the middle of the lower limb. The first is expected to fully regain mobility while the other foot will be impossible to achieve full recovery.
In fact, it was precisely this mishap that prevented Dr. Cavadas from personally picking up hisSpecial Prize for Innovation that Very Interesting gave him for his entire professional career. Even so, this plastic surgeon and specialist repairer in pioneering operations in the world, had time to thank the award through a video communication in which he declared himself a regular reader of Very Interesting.
It is not the first time thatdoctor Pedro “Milagro” Cavadas, as it is affectionately known, performs a pioneering and extremely delicate operation with surprising results. In July of last year Cavadas performed the world’s first bilateral leg transplant;in 2009 he performed the first face transplant, including jaw and tongue, and in 2006 carried out the first bilateral forearm and hand transplant. Now, he has just marked a new milestone in the history of surgery and limb implants and, above all, has managed to change the destiny of a child with his whole life ahead of him. For his part, David, in the words of his mother, has said thatwhen he grew up “wants to be like Cavadas”.
Plus?
