World's first full face transplant carried out in Spain

24-hour surgery gives man new skin, teeth, nose, lips and jaw

The Telegraph on Friday reported that the operation took place on a young man whose face was completely disfigured after he accidentally shot himself in the face in 2005.
“(The patient) had been operated on nine times without satisfactory success, therefore he was considered for full face transplant.

“This is the first full face transplant performed worldwide, as the 10 operations performed previously had been only partial,” said a statement released by Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron University Hospital.

Marathon operation
Doctors who undertook the marathon 24-hour surgery on March 20 said that besides skin tissue, the patient received new cheekbones, facial muscles, teeth, palate, skin, nose, lips and jaw.
The accident victim, a farmer in his thirties, had not been able to swallow, speak or breathe properly.

A team of 30 experts carried out the transplant and care was taken to ensure that the patient’s new face was created in the likeness of the face he had before the accident and did not resemble that of the anonymous donor.
“The patient has scars on his forehead and neck, but in the future they will be fully concealed,” the leader of the medical team that carried out the procedure, Joan Pere Barret, told a news conference.

“He saw himself in the mirror when he wanted to and when psychologists said that he was ready. It was a week after the operation and he reacted well, he was calm and satisfied,” he added.

In 2005, French woman, Isabelle Dinoire, became the first person in the world to have a face transplant. She had been mauled by her dog. She received a new nose and mouth.
Agencies