Francesco Paoli, vocalist/guitarist for Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse, has recently undergone surgery to help repair his left hand. The procedure comes about in response to the severe injuries he sustained in a 2021 rock climbing accident and continues to suffer from.
In addition to a laundry list of other injuries, that fall saw Paoli suffer nerve damage that required a nerve transplant from his leg into his elbow. That ailment was addressed with a 2022 surgery. While the fall did leave him with lasting damage to one of his feet, the latest surgery aims to help him with his left hand. To That end, he required a transplant of tissue originating from his hip.
He explained his current health in the below post, while also sharing a before and after gallery.
“Hey everyone, sorry if I haven’t posted much lately, but as you know social media is not my cup of tea and I’m turning more and more into an old fart! Anyway, I felt like a health update was due to all the people who supported me after the accident I had in 2021 and kept doing so throughout my recovery which, as you can see, isn’t complete yet. Yes, after 5 years I’m still working on fixing what’s fixable and after sorting out my arm and foot, we finally moved on to my left hand.
Due to my ulnar nerve interruption, I basically lost sensation and most of the muscles that lie between the bones of my hand. Unfortunately, that is gonna stay; I accept it and worked out exotic solutions (like rubber bands) to keep doing what I love the most, playing.
But my hand was almost skeletal and we had to do something to protect the structures that were still working in there, like bones, ligaments, veins, tendons, etc… So a couple of weeks ago, I underwent another reconstruction surgery and here is my “new” hand! (Pics 7-12) They took some tissue from my hip and transplanted it into the “empty” areas of my hand. It looks and feels much better! Also, it’s super cool to know that thanks to science I have a piece of my leg in my arm and some hip in my hand, ahah! The surgery went well, but I’m not done yet. I will likely have to do another “refinement” next year, but it’s accounted for and planned in the band’s schedule so we won’t miss any show!
Again, I feel so fortunate and thankful to be here sharing more positive news with you all; it’s miraculous indeed. Yet, at the same time, my thoughts are constantly with all the guys (and I met a ton of great people in these last 5 years) who weren’t as lucky, unfortunately. They’re the true warriors, together with all the doctors, researchers, scientists, nurses, and so on who never surrendered to what idiots call fate despite the increasing lack of proper work conditions. There is no fate, there is no chance, there’s only the incredible complexity of life, and we should all embrace it with a big smile like they do every day.
Thank you all once again for sending me positive energy all the time and giving me the strength I needed to keep pushing, and thank you to my family, my friends, my bandmates, managers, crew and the people surrounding me for continuing to believe and never leaving me behind.
Back to riffs and blast beats, over.
Fra“
