World’s First Face Transplant

Doctors at the Lyon and Amiens hospital in France had performed the world’s first partial face transplant on a 38-year-old woman, who had suffered extensive surgery in a dog attack.

The surgery took place Sunday in Amiens on a 38-year-old woman, replacing her nose, lips and chin. The woman was in “excellent” condition and that the transplanted organs look “normal,” the statement said. She wants to remain anonymous, it added.

Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard, one of the surgeons who performed the transplant at Amiens University Hospital, told The Associated Press the transplant was the world’s first of its kind.

The grafted tissue came from another woman who had been declared brain-dead, with the consent of her family.

The statement said the woman who received the partial facial transplant had “lesions that were extremely difficult and nearly impossible to repair using standard facial surgery methods.”

It should be noted that ethics committees in France and England have rejected proposals to perform full face transplants until more research is done. The committees were concerned about the unknown risks of the long-term use of large doses of immunosuppressive drugs for a procedure that does not save lives.

Thanks to Neatorama, and CNN.