14 DAY TRIAL // A woman who was injured to her face beyond any recognition benefited from an almost complete face transplant, as doctors replaced 80 percent of all tissue, skin, bones, muscles and nerves on her face, a Cleveland Clinic representative announced on Wednesday. This is the first such procedure to be performed in the United States, and the fourth that ever took place worldwide. Doctors say that her chances of recovery are good, but that no one should get over-enthusiastic, as the risk of rejection exists.
"We transferred the skin, all the facial muscles in the upper face and mid-face, the upper lip, all of the nose, most of the sinuses around the nose, the upper jaw including the teeth, the facial nerve. Our hopes are that she will be able to smile again," announced the chair of dermatology and plastic surgery of the clinic, Francis Papay.
"We know that there are so many patients there in their homes where they are hiding from society because they are afraid to walk to the grocery stores, they are afraid to go [out on] the street. Our patient was called names and was humiliated. We very much hope that for this very special group of patients there is a hope that someday they will be able to go comfortably from their houses and enjoy the things we take for granted," added Cleveland Clinic director of plastic surgery research, Dr. Maria Siemionow.
Currently, there are numerous controversies worldwide regarding the ethical aspects of replacing someone's face. Some critics argue that, because a major part of face injuries are not life-threatening, the condition should not be treated, and the persons suffering the accidents be left to fend for themselves.
"This is not a cosmetic surgery in any sense. The face is the embodiment of personal identity," argued bioethicist Dr. Eric Kodish, who added that the patient had virtually no life with her disfigurement, seeing how she never wanted to show her face in public again, and that she was offended every time she did. "A person who has sustained trauma or other devastation to the face is generally isolated and suffers tremendously. We have hope that our patient will begin to smile again, will be able to smell again," he said.
Until now, only three other similar surgeries were performed worldwide, two in France, in 2005 and 2007, and one in China, in 2006, all following extreme accidents or attacks by animals.