Face Off, Face On.
Face Transplants – science fiction or medical reality?
French surgeon Laurent Lantieri, one of the doctors involved in operating on a Chinese man severely disfigured by a genetic disease, believes they are becoming a medical reality. He’s quoted in a recent article in The Lancet as saying “There is no reason to think these face transplants would not be as common as kidney or liver transplants one day”.
Just three years after the successful partial face transplant for a French woman viciously attacked by a dog, two more people have benefited from partial face transplants using tissue from deceased or comatose donors.
One case involved a Chinese man who had been attacked by a bear in 2004, losing his left eye, nose, and a large portion of his upper lip and left check. After an initial attempt to repair the damage using tissue from the man’s forearm failed, the doctors decided to try a partial face transplant in 2006. The 18-hour operation resulted in a greatly improved facial appearance and the ability of the man to drink, eat, and talk normally again.
In the partial face transplant case involved a French man with a massive disfiguring neurofibroma. This tumor was so large that it was causing complete paralysis of the right side of his face and partial paralysis of the left. During the 15 hour operation, the tumor was removed and a partial face transplant restored the appearance and function of his face. As a result, the man’s quality of life has greatly improved.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The next step, some surgeons believe, is to do a full-face transplant…
