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Connie Culp recipient of first face transplant in United States
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Connie Culp before and after face transplant *
On December 10, 2008, 46 year-old shooting victim Connie Culp became the recipient of the first face transplant ever in the United States. The 22-hour transplant surgery, performed at Cleveland Clinic, was led by Dr. Maria Siemionow. The team of doctors replaced 80% of Culp's face, including bone, muscles, nerves, skin and blood vessels. The donor was a woman who had just died. Her identity and cause of death have not been disclosed, though reports have indicated that her family was "moved" after seeing the photos of Culp's new face.
Prior to the transplant, Culp had endured 30 surgeries to try to reconstruct her face. Surgeons had used ribs, leg bones, and skin grafts from her thighs to do the repairs, yet she was still unable to breathe on her own, smell, or eat solid foods until this past January.
Culp was shot in the face with a shotgun in September of 2004 by her husband, Thomas G. Culp, in a failed murder-suicide outside a bar in Ohio. Thomas was convicted of aggravated attempted murder and is now serving a 7-year prison sentence. The victim claims that she forgave her husband at the sentencing and will be awaiting his release. Connie Culp will remain on immuno-suppresive drugs for the remainder of her life and is still blind. The mother of two now advocates for burn and facial disfigurement victims.
Though Culp's is the first full facial transplant in the United States, the first partial face transplant in the US was received by Isabelle Dinoire in 2005, after her face was mutilated by her dog. A similar transplant was given to Li Guoxing from the Xijing military hospital in Xian, China, after he was mauled by a bear.
In the transplant, the patient's face is removed and replaced by the donor's face. This includes the underlying fat, nerves and blood vessels, but no musculature. The recipient's face does not take on the appearance of the donor's face, as the underlying musculature and bone structure are different.
*AP Photo/Cleveland Clinic-HO
For more info: OrganDonor.gov, Gift of Hope - Organ and Tissue Donor Network, Tissue Donation Faqs
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