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Woman's Voice Restored After Larynx Transplant

mvar writes "A woman in the US is able to speak for the first time in 11 years after a pioneering voicebox transplant. Brenda Jensen said the operation, which took place in California, was a miracle which had restored her life. Thirteen days after the surgery she said her first words: 'Good morning, I want to go home.' It is the first time a larynx and windpipe have been transplanted at the same time (image) and only the second time a larynx has ever been transplanted. In October, surgeons at the University of California Davis Medical Center removed the larynx, thyroid gland and 6cm of the trachea from a donor body. In an 18-hour operation, this was transplanted into Ms. Jensen's throat and the team connected it to her blood supply and nerves. Thirteen days later, she was able to speak her first croaky words and is now able to talk easily for long periods of time."

3 of 246 comments (clear)

  1. Re:so her voice is different now? by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sure, but first you'd have to kill Bruce Willis and steal his larynx...

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  2. Re:so her voice is different now? by Abstrackt · · Score: 5, Informative

    That'll be difficult. I hear he dies hard.

    --
    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  3. Re:Oh noes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Black people call each other "nigga" too, but it's still off limits for anyone who isn't black.

    If that explanation isn't good enough for you, then read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squaw#Controversy

    It's considered derogatory by a lot of people. I remember in high school hearing a group of guys talk about how they would "love to fuck that little squaw bitch in history class." Imagine them instead saying "I'd love to fuck that little Asian bitch in history." Asian isn't a derogatory term in and of itself, but it's sure as hell meant to be one in that scenario. Same with squaw.

    Of course, there are also a lot of people that just plain don't give a shit. As mentioned, I fall into that second category.