Doctors at Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva have successfully performed a rare and complex small-intestine transplant on Daniel Haim Biton, a 36-year-old man who had lived for 17 years without a functioning digestive system, the hospital said in a press release on Thursday.

The seven-hour surgery gave Biton, who has depended on intravenous total parenteral nutrition since age 19, the chance to live without medical devices or dietary restrictions for the first time in nearly two decades. He is currently hospitalized in stable condition in the general intensive-care unit and is awake.

“This is one of the most complex and rare procedures in modern medicine,” said surgeon Dr. Eviatar Nesher, who led the transplant operation. “Daniel is a true fighter. His resilience moved all of us. Than

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