Slashdot Mirror
Maryland Team Completes Most Extensive Face Transplant Yet
An anonymous reader writes "A 37-year-old man injured in a 1997 gun incident has been given a new face, teeth, tongue and jaw in what doctors say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed. The transplant was performed at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The first full face transplant was performed in France in 2005, on a woman who was mauled by her dog. In a review of the first 17 cases since then, it was found that the overall survival rate after face transplant was 88%, with only two deaths."
I had dinner last week with my brother-in-law (who repairs hands, e.g. by replacing a patient's mangled fingers with some of their toes) and one of his mentors, who happens to have done one of the successful face transplants. When guys like these ask if you want to see the pictures on their cellphones, it is best to refuse. Trust me on this.