Spanish Doctors Perform First Ever Double-leg Transplant

Spanish surgeons carried out the world's first double-leg transplant on Monday, giving new limbs to an accident victim who lost both.

The Los Angeles Times reports experts said it will take at least a month before the team will know if the procedure was successful. Those experts also told the newspaper that if the legs should be rejected it will probably happen almost immediately.

The man, who lost both legs above the knee, is still unidentified and because the patient didn't have enough of his legs remaining, earlier attempts to fit him with artificial legs failed, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The article further states that the operation was approved last year, but surgeons had to wait until they found a suitable donor.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Spanish surgeon Dr. Pedro Cavadas of La Fe Hospital in Valencia began the operation Sunday night, and spent nearly 14 hours connecting bones, nerves and muscles in the procedure.

The newspaper said Cavadas was the first surgeon in Spain to perform a face transplant, and the first anywhere to include a new tongue and jaw in the procedure.

A news conference providing more details about the surgery is expected Tuesday morning.