In the News – Total Face Transplant

This isn’t hair loss related, but fascinating all the same. Snippet from the article:

A team of 30 Spanish doctors say they have successfully performed the world’s first full face transplant. A man injured in a shooting accident received the entire facial skin and muscles – including cheekbones, nose, lips and teeth – of a donor. The man is recovering well after the 22-hour operation, said a spokesperson from Vall d’Hebron University Hospital.

Another 10 face transplants have been carried out around the world, but this is believed to be the most complex.

Read the full article at BBC News– Full face transplant ‘a success’

Face transplants are most difficult technically, and this is believed to be the first total face transplant. There are many problems that include blood supply to each part of the face, as the blood vessels have to be connected and they are very small. Nerve connections are also a challenge. The overall face transplant is like any other organ transplant with regard to rejection issues and the patient must be on anti-rejection medication for life, provided that the short term success of the face “taking hold” works.

I have seen the work presented at a medical meeting at the Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Maria Siemionow who documented the entire process with Rat experimentation first over many years (see here for more on that).