I'm ready to do it again, says face surgeon

The surgeon who performed the world's first face transplant dismissed the growing controversy surrounding the surgery as he announced plans to carry out at least five similar operations.

Prof Jean-Michel Dubernard, who conducted the 15-hour operation nine days ago, said he had just seen his patient, Isabelle Dinoire, and said she was happy and doing "impeccably well".

"The appearance of the graft is normal," said the professor, who carried out the world's first double hand graft five years ago. "She even finds her new face better than before. That should put to rest all the ethical controversy."

Doctors have accused the professor's team of operating without ensuring that the patient was psychologically prepared.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/06/wface06.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/12/06/ixworld.html

:hi:

:loveya:

:hi:

Y'all are precious, really. You should write a romance novel or sumthin'! :)

BikeWriter and I have never met in person...I was saying ouch as in (Gee I hope BW's exwife does not post here, or things could get interesting.)

:hi:

:rofl:

Not that I would not find BW attractive...If I were single, and living near where he does, who knows!

:hi:

Hope everything is starting to look up for you!

:hug:

:hug:

We still don't know if the operation's a complete success, yet.

OTOH, it's good to see progress.

...As happened with this poor woman. I hope that she experiences a full recovery and can return to normal life.

Some of the "news" media have gone all Twilight Zone on the subject, haven't they? The supposed shock to the transplant patient, not to mention the deceased's family, have been brought up numerous times.

I think, though, that a transplanted face would not resemble the original owner very much, because the underpinnings of bone would not be at all the same.

As to the recipient, that person will have gone from a fearsome deformity that can't be healed to having a new and healthy face with functioning muscles and tendons that will allow her or him to eat and drink normally and to go unnoticed in public. The difference in the mirror would not be so much a contrast between the new face and the former healthy face, but between the new face and the terribly injured face.

I hope this works.

Hekate

what is the f***ing controversy? It's not the original owners need their faces anymore - I really don't see any difference between this and organ transplants. More power to all these folk!

The donor and the receiver's, but will look more like the receiver, especially if original bone and muscle are still intact.

I wouldn't care if I looked like Pickles ()I think), as long as I had a face.