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The New Face Lift
RiotXIX writes to tell us that US surgeons plan on moving forward with their newest experimental medical practice, a face transplant. Doctors have already succeeded in making this practice a reality with cadavers donated for medical research and will soon begin interviewing a shortlist of patients to determine who, if anyone, will be first up for this procedure. From the article: 'The chance it will work is around 50% and experts have expressed safety and ethical concerns about the procedure. The recipient would have to take powerful anti-rejection drugs for life, which carry considerable long-term health risks, says the Royal College of Surgeons of England, which formed a working party to look at the issue earlier this year.'
The summary doesn't make this clear, but this procedure is intended only for severely disfigured people due to burn scars and such.
The possible side effects are pretty scary, though. My favorite quote is from the CNN Article:
And I used to think that anal leakage was a scary side effect, that's nothing comparing to a soughing face! Thank god I'm not in a position for now where I have to make a decision like that, but it sure is a high price to pay for looking "normal" again.
Anti rejection drugs aren't just a little pill you pop like your morning Prozak. They are taken to stop your immune system from doing what it's supposed to do (i.e. treat the transplanted flesh as an infection and attack it). Good if you don't want to lose your newly trasplanted face or organ, not so good if you want to be able to fight off a cold or whatever bug your kid brings home from school. Anti rejection drugs are getting better, but they are not trivial.
If the dilema is between the above and a heart or kidney that will keep you alive, then I think it's pretty simple for most people. If it's between this and a new face, I think there is more deliberation to be done than what you suggest.
I remember a news story about a girl born without a face.
I don't remember the medical name of the condition, where basically the bone structure of the face fails to develop during pregnancy, but such a procedure might help such people after the underlying bone grafts are complete.
I worked (very briefly) with a guy that had had "reconstruction" over 100% of his face from 3rd degree burns. In his case:
successful "reconstruction" = "no longer oozing."
He had no lips, and only kind of had eyelids, he had to constantly roll his eyes to keep them lubed. No nose, just one deformed hole in the front of his head. He was, in a word, hideous. Not his fault. He was a good guy. But his quality of life was in the toilet. This was in the late 1990s, so maybe they're a little better now, but if they can do a complete replacement - more power to them. I would be happy to be a donor once I'm gone. They already get my liver, heart, and eyes. If someone can use this ugly mug, they're welcome to it.
If he is, give me a call. I'll be sure to help ya out on your needs. ;)
"Respect the Emperor, Expel the Foreign Barbarians." - Japanese National Motto during Meiji Period
Scar tissue from the burns constantly contracts. It can become such a problem that people can have slurred speech (since their ability to move their lips has been greatly reduced by the tightening of the skin). There are traditional methods attempt to fix this (use under-skin saline balloons to grow new skin in some part of the body, and then graft that skin onto the burned areas), but they are not permanent since remaining scar tissue will continue to contract. It's a horrible cycle, and I bet some people would be willing to take such a risk as that.
This is a detailed medical article on the skin grafting procedure with burn victims: Tissue expansion in The Treatment of Burn Scars
shattered
NOT A FSCKING CHANCE IN HELL would I ever go for a transplant from a cadaver. Traditional techniques have been available, and improving, for 30 years which can do a much nicer job without having to take immune blockers for the rest of my life and which use my own skin. There's also just the creepy bit about wearing a cadaver's face... Kinda like Slayer's old tune,"Dead Skin Mask".
The only reason why anyone may volunteer for this is that the doctors involved are (unethically, I might add) attempting to bait patients in by offering the first few operations free of charge. This is such a lowlife technique. How about, instead, we fix the medical and insurance obstacles for people who would like to have genuine reconstructive surgery?
For example, in my case, I can't afford to go for reconstructive surgery even though I actually NEED it. The scar tissue doesn't stretch as I grow, and the mobility of my arms, hands, and neck is severely limited. My waist is the same way. Imagine wearing an ultra-tight girdle 24/7/365 with no chance to take it off, ever. Do you know what that does to digestion after any meal larger than a Triscuit? Can you imagine what it's like to put on weight and not be able to adjust the girdle size? The waist size for my scar-tissue girdle is about a 32-34 (180 lbs). My current waist size is 36 @ 210 lbs. I'm 6'1", I'm not overweight... but I cannot convey to you that daily life is, at best, uncomfortable.
Why don't I go in for surgery? Who will pay my bills for the 30 days that I'm completely incapacitated and the 4 months to relatively complete recovery? Donor sites for skin grafts are EXTREMELY painful and take a long time to heal. My insurance company won't... this is a "preexisting condition" which, according to them, doesn't directly affect my Quality of Life or my ability to do my job.
The problem is not reconstructive technology. The problem is money-grubbing insurance agencies and the predominant wage-slave status of anyone making less than $100k/year.
fast as fast can be. you'll never catch me.
Extensive facial disfigurement cannot be corrected by one skin graft. It must be done in many small pieces with current technology. Do you have any idea how severely an automobile collision or a fire can damage a person's tissue?
Paragraphs 32, 33
Please note the risks, complications, and expected recovery times for each full skin graft.
Although this article clearly opposes facial transplants, it supports the assertation that current grafting methodologies are slow, painful, and dangerous; and new procedures are needed to reconstruct facial tissue in larger pieces with fewer surgeries. Dr Thomas Stevenson, president of the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said:
Have you ever known a burn victim?
Skin grafts do not do very much. I think that what they do is provide enough temporary covering to allow scar tissue to grow in place anyways. And, besides, the scar tissue that does grow is not all that flexible at all, either.
The "face transplant" only involves taking off the dermal layers of the face, no facial muscles (dermis, epidermis and subcutaneous layer).
They are looking for recipients that have not suffered too much muscle or nerve damage, and still have a good amount of the blood supply available (obviously). Did you not read the article?
If there ever was a legitimate cosmetic surgery, this is one.