Surgeons Unveil Groundbreaking Face Transplant
November 20, 2015
On Monday, surgeons at the Langone Medical Center in New York City announced they had successfully performed the most extensive and complicated full-face transplant ever attempted. In the 26-hour-long operation performed on Aug. 15, 2015, surgeons removed the scalp, face, and neck of a 26-year-old man who had been declared brain-dead following a bicycle accident. They then transferred those facial features to Patrick Hardison, a former Mississippi volunteer firefighter. The successful surgery provides Hardison with a second chance in life free of the pain and severe disfigurement he had lived with since a burning house collapsed on him as he attempted to rescue a woman in 2001.
In medicine, transplant surgery transfers any type of tissue or organ from one person to another. In most countries, organ transplants are an established form of treatment for a variety of diseases and injuries. Commonly transplanted organs include the heart, lungs, kidney, and liver. Organs and tissues may come from living donors, but they are commonly donated from people killed in accidents or as a result of other circumstances. Transplanted tissues and organs replace diseased, damaged, or destroyed body parts. They can help restore the health of a person who might otherwise die or be seriously disabled. Face transplant surgeries, however, are much more difficult compared to other transplant surgeries and have only been performed about two dozen times worldwide. None have been as complicated as this one.
As they removed the donor face, the Langone surgeons had to meticulously identify vital blood vessels and nerves in order to preserve and re-attach them as they transferred the eyelids, scalp, ears and other subcutaneous (beneath the skin) bony structures to Hardison. To achieve the right face shape, doctors printed computer-generated 3-dimensional models of the donor’s face, scalp, and bones so all the tissues could be fitted perfectly to the patient as they rebuilt the structure of his nose, chin, eyes, mouth, and cheeks. The new surgical techniques developed and utilized by the Langone team will help make future face transplants equally successful.
Within days of the operation, Hardison was able to move his eyelids and to see clearly. Over the past 3 months, he has undergone extensive physical therapy to build strength in the muscles in his new face. He has had to relearn how to swallow and speak normally. Hardison still faces many challenges as he continues his therapy. However, the complex surgery has left him with few visible scars and a very welcome—and distinctly average—appearance.
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