Car crash survivor regains health after rare intestinal transplant at Cleveland Clinic

During a March 2024 family road trip, Lacy Cornelius Boyd’s vehicle slid on black ice, resulting in a head-on crash that left her with broken neck and ribs, a collapsed lung, and catastrophic intestinal injury, reducing her small-bowel length to about 35 inches. After a month in the hospital she was diagnosed with short-bowel syndrome and dependent on 12-hour daily IV nutrition and an ostomy bag. A surgeon’s suggestion led her to the Cleveland Clinic, where Dr. Masato Fujiki proposed an intestinal transplant, a rare operation performed on roughly 100 U.S. patients each year and known for high rejection rates.

The 12-hour transplant in July 2025 proceeded smoothly, and Boyd spent three weeks recovering in-hospital followed by three months of close outpatient monitoring in Cleveland. Post-surgery she no longer needs IV nutrition, the ostomy was removed, and she returned home in time for Thanksgiving, resuming normal activities with her daughter. She continues on anti-rejection medication and regular follow-up at the Cleveland Clinic.