Face Transplant Technology

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When the news first broke about a French woman receiving a face transplant, most people were really shocked. But transplant technology has been hurdling toward this type of procedure. And, in fact, bionics have started appearing, with a woman receiving the world’s first bionic arm. But that is for another post. Actually, most of the technology for doing this type of transplant have been available for some time. But ethics debates have shrouded and impeded doctors’ ability to do these types of surgeries.

There have been face replants in other countries. A facial replant uses a person’s own face for the replant. This can occur when a person’s face is somehow removed from their body. One happened in 1994 in India, and another in 1997 in Australia.

The transplant procedure takes into consideration a host of factors. These include age, skin color, sex, etc. Once a match is found, doctors remove the face, with underlying fatty tissue, blood vessels, and nerves. This is then put onto the recipient. Now, in partial transplants the face is obviously a new one. There is a combining of both the donor’s and the recipient’s faces. But even in a full transplant, the recipient’s muscles control the new face in ways that the donor didn’t. And the personality of the recipient is expressed.

Post surgery can actually prove harder than the surgery itself. The French surgery took five hours to complete. After the surgery, the patient must now undergo rigorous physical therapy and immunosuppressants. It takes time for the nerves to regain their feeling. And muscles take a while to regain functioning. This can make life hard for the patient. But the French woman is living a new life. And, rumor has it, that she has a 1 million dollar book deal in the works.

Source: CNN, BBC, Wikipedia

Photo Source: CNN (AP Photo)

[tags]face transplant, transplant technology, face transplant technology[/tags]

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