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The World's First Full Face Transplant

Posted by Soulskill on from the mpaa-sues-for-copyright-infringement dept.

Dave Knott writes "A thirty-member Spanish medical team has achieved the world's first full face transplant. There have been ten previous similar operations, but this is claimed to be the first total transplant, replacing all of the face including some bones. The unnamed recipient originally injured himself in a shooting accident, and received the entire facial skin and muscles — including cheekbones, nose, lips and teeth — of a donor. The complex operation involved extraction of the donor's face, followed by removal of the jaw, nose, cheeks and parts of the eye cavities. Then the medical team took all of the donor face's soft tissue, including musculature, veins and nerves. In order to transplant the face, the medical team has to connect four jugular veins, extract bones and join all the musculature and blood vessels. The recipient has had a chance to see himself in the mirror, and is reportedly satisfied with the results. It is unknown whether he now looks more like John Travolta or Nicolas Cage." The pictures and videos in the linked articles are all computer-generated at this point, so the squeamish need not worry.

5 of 193 comments (clear)

  1. The donor? by urusan · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where did they get a spare face? Faces are rather hard to come by.

    1. Re:The donor? by spun · · Score: 5, Funny

      A donor, it said. Pay attention. Where do you think they get organs and shit for transplants? Dead people with donor cards.

      Uh, who could possibly need a shit transplant?

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    2. Re:The donor? by spun · · Score: 5, Funny

      Whoa. I learn something new and disgusting every day. Thanks Internet!

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
  2. I saw that movie by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whats it called again? The one with Nicholas Cage and John Travolta... Where they like, take the guys face off, and then his face is off, so then they take the other guys face off, and put it on the other guys face. And then the guy without a face is really put off by it, so he gets the doctor to take the first offed face and put it back on him. So their faces are swapped. And then they have an epic face off with a climactic finish.

    God I wish I could just remember the name of that movie...

  3. Re:The Results? by Undead+Waffle · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't think that would sit well.