The first person in the world to have a full-face transplant appeared in public at the University Hospital Vall d'Hebron hospital In Spain. The 31-year-old patient, alias Oscar, had his face badly damaged in a shooting accident. He saw his new face for the first time just one week after surgery. He was satisfied with the results. Oscar still has scars on his neck and forehead, but those will be concealed.
CNN reports, "Doctors at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron University Hospital say they were able to give the man a new nose, lips, teeth and cheekbones during 24 hours of surgery. Thirty doctors were part of the surgery that occurred in late March."
Oscar did suffer acute rejection twice after surgery. The first time was four weeks afterward and the second time was two months afterward. Medicine stopped the rejection and Oscar was fine. The good news is, Oscar now has to shave. Doctors believe that beard growth shows stronger adaptation to the new tissue in the transplant.
Forbes says, "Vall d'Hebron hospital said the man will need between a year and 18 months of physical therapy and expects him to regain up to 90 percent of his facial functions. The man has been described as a farmer who was unable to breathe or eat on his own after accidentally shooting himself in the face five years ago."
MSNBC comments, "He is able to drink liquids and eat soft foods, and has been able to speak for the past two months, the hospital said in a statement. The patient also has regained feeling in most of his face and is partly recovering movement of his muscles. One good sign was that a week after the operation, he had to be shaved because of beard growth.The first was when doctors operated on Isabelle Dinoire in Amiens, France, in 2005. She had been mauled by her dog.
The patient of the first-ever full-face transplant has been recuperating since March. Doctors in Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Spain held a press conference with their patient present. Partial face transplants have been done in France, the United States, and China,
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