Face Transplant

[philosophe]

I recently heard a very detailed scientific presentation by the inventors of this surgery. Their technical skill and devotion to patient care is incredible. Compound tissue transplants are quite complex, but many of the protocols, especially those concerning rejection, evolved from kidney and liver transplantation. The inventors chose hand and facial reconstruction because these parts of the body are so central to self-identity, social functioning, and expressivity. I saw videos of hand transplant patients threading needles and other very fine motor skills. It's just amazing. The process takes quite a while--muscle tone takes a long time to develop. It's very moving to hear patients talk about getting their lives back, being able to look in the mirror, being able to go out in public, smile, etc.

 

[Eason]

Originally Posted by AndrewRyanWallace

I'm sorry I just opened up the link and saw the picture and started dying laughing. I haven't read the article yet. I am sure I will think I am a terrible person in a few minutes but I just wanted to report this before hand in case anyone was confused.
Yes, she looks like a ******. This is an improvement regardless: http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090506/c...1HXMokkYPWdw-- I see a lot of people with missing faces here begging, I think if something like that happened to me, I'd probably just wear a metal plate on my face and become a crime lord. If you can't be handsome, be cool or something.

Originally Posted by why

Whatever. Some people are just more naive.
I know. You and I both know that he has to shoot her in the face because he loves her.

 

[marin]

Remarkable, incredible, amazing. Clearly this will be invaluable to this patient and others in the future.

More generally, I don't understand why doctors are judged harshly by the press or the public. There are few people who can regularly have such a fundamental, positive impact on an individual's life.

 

[haganah]

Originally Posted by Eason

Yes, she looks like a ******.

This is an improvement regardless: http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090506/c...1HXMokkYPWdw--

I see a lot of people with missing faces here begging, I think if something like that happened to me, I'd probably just wear a metal plate on my face and become a crime lord. If you can't be handsome, be cool or something.



I know. You and I both know that he has to shoot her in the face because he loves her.

You see beggers on the streets of Korea without faces??

 

[Eason]

Originally Posted by haganah

You see beggers on the streets of Korea without faces??

I'm stuck in Beijing for the time being, but yeah. It's pretty sad, they're either burn or explosion victims, missing limbs, face is all scar tissue, no nose, no ears. You have to get used to looking at them and not freaking out.

 

[Joffrey]

Sad yet remarkable. You can only imagine what they will be able to do within the next decade or so.

 

[chobochobo]

There is nothing 'special' about face transplant surgery per se. The techniques are standard reconstructive surgery. The main issues revolved around the psychological effects, the immunosuppressive complications and the ethical conundrum.

 

[Etienne]

Originally Posted by Connemara

Maybe she will look "normal" soon.
Although it is not common yet and this is the first US case, the procedure has been used in several countries. See a history here. Based on those examples, she might look "normal" in the end. For example, this is the very first face transplant (a partial face transplant, in France in 2005): Pre-op:

Post-op (left photo just after the operation, right photo one year later after having fully recovered):

Originally Posted by philosophe

I recently heard a very detailed scientific presentation by the inventors of this surgery.
Bernard Devauchelle and Jean-Michel Dubernard? I heard they are great guys indeed.

 

[needler]

Originally Posted by chobochobo

There is nothing 'special' about face transplant surgery per se. The techniques are standard reconstructive surgery.

The techniques of a Monet are standard painting with brushes. They're still 'special'. It's not about the tools you use, it's about how you use them.

Microsurgery may be "standard surgery", but there is a tiny bit more thought and artistry involved in how you transplant a face than throwing a TRAM into a boob.

 

[PocketCircle]

Originally Posted by chobochobo

There is nothing 'special' about face transplant surgery per se. The techniques are standard reconstructive surgery. The main issues revolved around the psychological effects, the immunosuppressive complications and the ethical conundrum.

Is that why they could do the first transplant only 4 years ago?

 

[chobochobo]

You will find that the many people had been planning to do the 'first' face transplant for many years now. One surgeon in the UK spent many years trying to get ethical approval for it and still hasn't got it.

Yes, there is more to a face transplant than the single pedicle microanastomosis of a TRAM/DIEP or most other free flaps really, I never said that the two were equivalent. My point was that it wasn't really the surgery itself that was the limiting factor - the microanastomosis of vessels, nerves and the craniofacial work is standard reconstructive surgery. Doing it all in one setting is a major undertaking, but not impossible even say ten or fifteen years ago. Availability of donors, consenting patients on psychological issues and the commitment to life long immunosuppression and getting past the ethical hurdles has always been the greater barrier to performing face transplants.

 

[philosophe]

Originally Posted by Étienne

Bernard Devauchelle and Jean-Michel Dubernard? I heard they are great guys indeed.

Dubernard (who is just amazing--surgeon, mayor, parliamentarian!) and Laurent Lantieri.

 

[clarity]

That tie is more shocking than the lady.


I think this is quite interesting, btw.

 

[Lucky7]

What an amazing accomplishment! God bless her, I couldn't imagine that happening to anyone that I cared about. I give her a lot of credit for going through this grueling process.

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Jawlines can be improved with surgery. Her problem there now is mostly due to swelling, according to TV news stories. She's expected to look fairly normal with time and other operations. Her husband (ex-husband now?) who shot her and himself in the head somehow seems to have recovered cosmetically from his injuries. Her attitude seems great, yes. She told a story about confronting a scared child and explaining what happened to her. Evidently she's quite even-tempered, which perhaps made her a good candidate for the operation.