London surgeons set for hand and voicebox swaps

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Professor Peter Butler, head of surgery at the trust, has already been given permission to carry out the world's first full face transplant, which is expected to be carried out within the next year.

It comes after surgeons in Germany performed the world's first double arm transplant last month, and French surgeons performed the first partial face transplant two and a half years ago.

The hand surgery could benefit burns victims while the voicebox operation will help those who have lost the power of speech.

The hand operation has been carried out 30 times worldwide, with the first taking place in France in 1998 on Clint Hallam, who lost his hand in an accident with a saw.

The operation was a success but Mr Hallam said he was "mentally detached" from the hand and it was removed at his request.

The voicebox operation is being planned by a team at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, part of the Royal Free Trust. The patients would speak with their own accent, but the tones of the donor would be audible.

The first voicebox transplant was carried out in 1998 in America.

All transplant patients must take powerful drugs for the rest of their lives to stop their immune system rejecting the new tissue.