Post by MJSUNIFC on Nov 30, 2005 20:50:28 GMT -5
38-year-old woman was disfigured by a dog bite
Updated: 4:06 p.m. ET Nov. 30, 2005
LYON, France - Doctors in France said they had performed the world¡¯s first partial face transplant, forging the way into a risky medical frontier by operating on a woman disfigured by a dog bite.
The 38-year-old woman, who wants to remain anonymous, had a nose, lips and chin grafted onto her face from a brain-dead donor whose family gave consent. The operation, performed Sunday, was led by a surgeon already famous for a transplant breakthrough, Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard.
¡°The patient¡¯s general condition is excellent and the transplant looks normal,¡± said a statement issued Wednesday from the hospital in the northern city of Amiens where the operation took place. Dubernard would not discuss the surgery, but confirmed that it involved the nose, lips and chin.
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¡°We still don¡¯t know when the patient will get out,¡± he said. A news conference is planned for Friday.
Scientists in China have performed scalp and ear transplants, but experts say the mouth and nose are the most difficult parts of the face to transplant. In 2000, Dubernard did the world¡¯s first double forearm transplant.
The surgery drew both praise and sobering warnings over its potential risks and ethical and psychological ramifications. If successful ¡ª something that may not be known for months or even years ¡ª the procedure offers hope to people horribly disfigured by burns, accidents or other tragedies.
The woman was ¡°severely disfigured¡± by a dog bite in May that made it difficult for her to speak and chew, according to a joint statement from the hospital in Amiens and another in the southern city of Lyon, whose doctors collaborated in the surgery.
Such injuries are ¡°extremely difficult, if not impossible¡± to repair using normal surgical techniques, the statement said.
Related story
Preparing for the world's first face transplant
¡°For pushing the bounds of science, they are to be applauded, as long as they have got full informed consent from the patient and the donor¡¯s family,¡± added Dr. Iain Hutchison, chief executive of the London-based Facial Surgery Research Foundation.
Scientists around the world are working to perfect techniques involved in transplanting faces. Today¡¯s best treatments leave many people with facial disfigurement and scar tissue that doesn¡¯t look or move like natural skin.
for more of this story click on the below link
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10265941/
Updated: 4:06 p.m. ET Nov. 30, 2005
LYON, France - Doctors in France said they had performed the world¡¯s first partial face transplant, forging the way into a risky medical frontier by operating on a woman disfigured by a dog bite.
The 38-year-old woman, who wants to remain anonymous, had a nose, lips and chin grafted onto her face from a brain-dead donor whose family gave consent. The operation, performed Sunday, was led by a surgeon already famous for a transplant breakthrough, Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard.
¡°The patient¡¯s general condition is excellent and the transplant looks normal,¡± said a statement issued Wednesday from the hospital in the northern city of Amiens where the operation took place. Dubernard would not discuss the surgery, but confirmed that it involved the nose, lips and chin.
Story continues below ¡ý
¡°We still don¡¯t know when the patient will get out,¡± he said. A news conference is planned for Friday.
Scientists in China have performed scalp and ear transplants, but experts say the mouth and nose are the most difficult parts of the face to transplant. In 2000, Dubernard did the world¡¯s first double forearm transplant.
The surgery drew both praise and sobering warnings over its potential risks and ethical and psychological ramifications. If successful ¡ª something that may not be known for months or even years ¡ª the procedure offers hope to people horribly disfigured by burns, accidents or other tragedies.
The woman was ¡°severely disfigured¡± by a dog bite in May that made it difficult for her to speak and chew, according to a joint statement from the hospital in Amiens and another in the southern city of Lyon, whose doctors collaborated in the surgery.
Such injuries are ¡°extremely difficult, if not impossible¡± to repair using normal surgical techniques, the statement said.
Related story
Preparing for the world's first face transplant
¡°For pushing the bounds of science, they are to be applauded, as long as they have got full informed consent from the patient and the donor¡¯s family,¡± added Dr. Iain Hutchison, chief executive of the London-based Facial Surgery Research Foundation.
Scientists around the world are working to perfect techniques involved in transplanting faces. Today¡¯s best treatments leave many people with facial disfigurement and scar tissue that doesn¡¯t look or move like natural skin.
for more of this story click on the below link
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10265941/