A voice lost and found

By Lisa Cardy

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A GROUNDBREAKING larynx transplant operation�to give back the power of speech to throat cancer victims could be standard procedure within four years.

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But there are�huge�emotional implications as recipients' voices will have the pitch and quality of the donor when they try to speak.

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The removal of the larynx has a devastating affect on the patient. It doesn't just take away the ability to speak, it also disrupts a wide range of essential functions, such as swallowing, smelling, tasting, laughing and crying.

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Bristol head and neck surgeon Martin Birchall has been awarded a �1.2 million fellowship by the Wellcome charitable trust to prepare for the procedure.�He says initial surgery will take place on people who have a paralysed voice box, and�hopes the first transplants would be performed�by 2004.

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As in the case of other transplants, laryngeal transplants require a donor organ from a body that matches the recipient's blood and tissue types.

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But doctors will have to ensure that�there is no cross over in the lifestyle of the donor and recipient. A�patient speaking with the voice of a dead loved one would be�distressing for all.

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