The Most Complex Face Transplant Ever Performed

Humans may be more like a Mr. Potato head than originally thought. The ability to interchange human body parts is as eerie as it is miraculous. Normal transplantation has always been associated with kidneys, liver, hearts, and lungs; however, it seems there is no roof to what can be done

A man suffering from the loss of most of his face, incurred during a shooting accident (no, he wasn’t hunting with Dick Cheney), has received the most complex face transplant to date. After a 22-hour, arduous operation with a team of 30 Spanish doctors, the man received a pre-owned set of facial features with skin, muscles, a nose, teeth, and lips from what I hope was a cadaver. Although 10 other facial transplants have been carried out in the world, this is the first full transplant. After a run of failed previous operations, the man was left with no other options as he couldn’t breathe, talk, or swallow properly. Metal plates are used to support the new facial structure, which included reconstructing the roof of the mouth. The donor's nerves, blood vessels and skin were connected to the patient. The patient will have to take anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life.

The main reason I chose this article was that the title alone sounded incredulous. The fact that humans can be patchworked like Frankenstein’s monster when you consider all of the small, discrete muscles, blood vessels, and nerves that have to be attached is astounding. The fact that the body can adopt a donor face, albeit with some complications, makes me feel like we are more quasi-machine than we are raised to believe. It’s amazing when doctors challenge the limits of expectations.

Jason Dwight
Section 502
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8639437.stm