Transplant Patient Goes Home To Italy

A man who had six organs transplanted at a Miami hospital returned Sunday to his native Italy nearly seven months after the 36-hour operation.

Leonardo Cioce, 29, was near death from Gardner’s syndrome, a rare congenital disease in which tumors slowly invade and strangle organs.

He received a new kidney, pancreas, stomach, large intestines, small intestines and liver in the operation that began July 15 at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The operation, which cost $600,000, was directed by Dr. Andreas Tzakis, one of the leading transplant specialists in the United States.