Face Transplant surgery

[Bike Punk]

Like the movie FACE-OFF? I didn't.

But.. .now its real.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051201/ap_on_he_me/france_face_transplant

<snip> LYON, France - Doctors in France said they had performed the world's first partial face transplant, forging into a risky medical frontier with their operation 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, included a surgeon already famous for transplant breakthroughs, 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.


For a related read, check out STIFF by Mary Roach. Its about what happens to your body when you donate it to science.

[Crayson]

1. No.. the face will look very different on a new person

1) only a partial face was transplanted.
2) you still have your own bone struckter underneath, which means your cheekbones, nosebone, chin, eyesockets etc.. which gives your face it's unique features.
3) You have different fat tissue underneath.
4) the face will not "work" 100% only some of the bigger nerves.
5) The skin is stretched.
etc...
6) Only skin features as warts and such will remind you of the original persons face on an otherwise "distorted" face.


I'm sure the woman is more than happy about having an almost normal face again.

There are some terrible diseases and accidents that leave you disfigured. Such people never leave home anymore, they really need such options.

[Bike Punk]

2. Not my point, really...

I just didn't see this mentioned, and thought it was interesting from a body/donor perspective.

I also found it interesting that when the press conference was held and broadcast on CNN, the banner underneath had something about the moral and ethical dilemma of this procedure.

It kills me that this happened in France, and not the US, what with the penchant for Botox, face-lifts, and all the various plastic surgeries. You would think that we would want to do some good, such as in this case, but no... we would rather make Joan rivers look like the mother in Brazil.

(I'm off-topic now, sorry... it happens...)

[enlightenment]

3. I'm not familiar with the Mary Roach book (essay?)

Could you provide a brief summary? I guess I'm a bit bemused at the idea that one should be concerned what happens to their body after they donate to science. If one is concerned, perhaps they shouldn't donate . . .
BUT -- I don't know what point Roach is making and I don't want to malign her unfairly.

[Bike Punk]

4. In short..

she was fascinated by a variety of thing, and her book covers in a humorous way sometimes, what happens when you dontate your body to science. Everything from heads (heads ONLY, the rest is sent elsewhere...) Heads that are used in 'seminars' for plastic surgeons to refine and learn new techniquies. (Better to practice on dead heads than live ones...)

She covers the Body Farm in Tennessee, bodies used as test dummies, the works.

Its in interesting read for people interested in donating their bodies, as well as organs. (she touches on that in various ways as well...)

She actually raises the point of sometimes the family shouldnt know anything, or they may not release the body to science, even though the donor has specified that he/she IS to go to science.
Would you want to know if you were being used as a body for testing body armor for the Army? Or for projectile testing to record the damage from a copper-sheathed bullet versus a 'cop-killer' ?

I would want to do something more productive with my corpse, but they say you can't choose, but you CAN say what you DONT want to do.

[enlightenment]

5. Sounds like an interesting read, thanks.

I decided long ago to donate -- however it's useful, parts, study, even just beginner gross anatomy class.
I hadn't given thought to those other uses -- I don't have any problem with, say, auto-safety testing, but I do draw the line at being a test-dummy for methods of killing people. It seems counter-productive . . .

It's nice to know you can specify how you DON'T want your body used.