Full Face Transplant

The first almost full-face transplant was performed two weeks ago in Cleveland, Ohio. The operation took 22 hours to complete using eight specialists to transplant bones, muscle, blood vessels and nerves. The female patient has not yet been named but an injury several years ago left her without an eye, most of her nose and upper jaw, this is the fourth time this procedure has been done after two in France and one in China.

80 % of the patients face had to be replaced with a dead female donor. The disfigurement meant she could not eat or breathe on her own, after the donor face was attached doctors were delighted that tissue was turning pink. In time the patient will be able to smile and even smell, being left without a face has caused much humiliation and name calling.

In time the face will not look like her own as the donor face will alter due to muscle and bone, there can also be some psychological damage like disappointment and guilt towards the donor.