Man who had world's first successful face and double hand transplant shares images of before accident

Joe DiMeo, the man who had the world's first successful face and double hand transplant, has shared pictures of what he looked like before the 2018 car crash that caused serious burns all over his body.

He'd been driving home from his night shift at the age of 18 and from his perspective that was the last thing he remembered before waking up in a hospital burns unit months later.

It turns out Joe had briefly fallen asleep at the wheel of his Dodge Challenger, which had gone off the road and burst into flames after hitting a curb.

Two people nearby were able to rush to Joe's aid and get him out of the flames, but he suffered burns across 80 percent of his body and in 2020 he went in for an operation to give him a new face and hands.

Joe's partner Jessica has shared some pictures of what he looked like before the crash and the operation Joe credits with saving his life.

Joe explained that when he was woke up from his coma the doctors explained the extent of the damage to his hands and face.

He said: "The doctors came in and they told me, 'We had to amputate your fingertips down to the second knuckle, your eyelids are burnt off, you can't open your mouth fully no more...you're also 80 percent burnt'.

"I said, 'So like what, Freddy Krueger?' And he's like, 'Yeah'."

It took 20 reconstructive plastic surgeries and a 23 hour process to undergo the ambitious transplant operation, a process which had already failed for two other people before Joe.

Fortunately for him his transplants were successful and ever since then he's been testing his motor skills by doing things with his hands, with him being able to get back behind the wheel of a car again.

Joe's partner Jessica first got in touch with him over social media when she sent him a message on Instagram after learning about his story.

When she saw pictures of what he used to look like she said: "I remember looking at the picture of him, before and after, and thinking, ‘Dang, that sucks, he was a handsome guy'. But that’s all I thought."

Since then they bought a home in New Jersey, got engaged and ended up tying the knot.

She said: “For everything he has gone through, he remains so positive and such a light.

"I love Joe inside and out because he is a funny guy, he knew what he wanted in life and was very mature for his age."

After he was in the crash and got burned Joe said he wasn't 'looking for love' but felt 'confident' he'd find someone because he was the same as he ever was on the inside.

He'd said: "It didn't feel weird being given the face of someone nearly twice my age because I was just completely ready to start my life again.

"This is who I am now and I came to terms with that quite quickly really.

"When I was burnt I was not looking for love but I was always confident it would happen eventually because I am the same on the inside.

"Nothing has changed besides my skin."