Surgeon Marshall Strome risked his medical reputation by giving patient Tim Heidler a larynx transplant. Recalled Strome: "I said to my wife: 'If this fails, people are going to say I was nuts for the rest of my life.'" But Heidler, whose larynx was crushed in a motorcycle accident, was determined to have Strome do the operation. Heidler told Strome that — like facial disfigurement — losing his voice was like losing his identity. As he spoke through an electrical larynx, Heidler told Strome: "No one will ever appreciate what it's like to talk like this."