Spanish surgeons have performed the world's first double-leg transplant on a man whose legs were amputated above the knee after an accident.

Surgeons operated through the night on the man, who had faced life in a wheelchair because prosthetic limbs were unsuitable. It is the first time in the world that such a transplant has been carried out in the La Fe hospital in the city of Valencia, Spain. The doctor in charge of the operation, Pedro Cavadas is known in Spain for having done several groundbreaking organ transplants.

In October 2008 he carried out the first double arm transplant undertaken in Spain and the second in the world, while in August 2009 he performed the first face transplant in Spain.