In his own words: Tim says "it's great" to talk again

Tim Heidler is the first person to receive a voicebox transplant, carried out by surgeons in Cleveland, Ohio.

But the surgery also marks a groundbreaking move away from the use of organ transplantation as purely a last resort for saving life.

The groundbreaking operation was long and complex.

Mr Heidler was 21 when he lost his voice in a horrific motorbike accident.

For two years he battled for his life. After 27 operations, he had recovered from most of his injuries, but doctors were forced to remove his voicebox - meaning he would never speak again with a human voice.

At least that was what he thought until earlier this year, when Dr Marshall Strome, a surgeon at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic, offered him the chance of the extraordinary operation.

Too risky

A cruder form of the voicebox transplant was attempted in 1969 by a surgeon in Belgium. But the patient died a few days later and the operation had not been tried again since.

Dr Marshall Strome: "The voice is as much a marker of individuality as the fingerprint."

Previously, it had been considered too risky to carry out major transplant surgery unless a person's life was at stake.

But now, with improved surgical techniques and anti-rejection drugs, Dr Strome believes the potential benefits of this type of operation can outweigh the risks.

"We've come a long way in the last 20 years. I felt confident that we really had a good chance of long-term success," he explains.

And Mr Heidler was a perfect patient because, despite the risks, he was 100% behind it.

Long and complex operation

Speaking with his new found voice, he said: "Not being able to talk I think is terrible - next to being blind is next to not being able to see. And that is all my life is - to be able to talk again with a real voice."

When a suitable donor was found in January, Dr Strome had only a few hours to work. Gathering his specialised team of medics, he began the long and complex operation.

It involved transplanting the donor's windpipe and voicebox to what was left of Tim's own windpipe.

The team then had to join up the nerves and blood vessels as well as transplant a small piece of thyroid tissue.

Mr Heidler's veins were smaller than expected and proved difficult for the surgeon, but everything else went well.

Three days after the operation, he was able to say his first words with a human voice for 19 years.

Chatting on the phone

Eleven months on, he is back home.

Being able to communicate has changed Tim's life.

Dr Strome is still waiting for the surgery to heal further before he closes the hole in Tim's throat.

Progress may be slow, but the operation has completely changed Tim's life. He now chats freely to friends and family on the telephone. Even his senses of smell and taste have greatly improved.

And although he jokes that from now on he may not be able to keep his mouth shut, he warns against taking the power of speech for granted.