In 1997, an exciting action movie with the participation of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage "Faceless" appeared on the movie screens. The main character of the film goes on an incredible adventure and does a face transplant operation. At that time, a similar plot was described as fantastic. Today, face transplantation is rarely associated with a story from a famous thriller and no longer seems like a fairy tale, because in the world several dozen such operations have been carried out, which gave rehabilitated patients hope for a new life and face.
History
The first operation to restore the appearance was performed by the surgeon Harold Gillis back in 1917. Many experts consider it to be his founder of plastic surgery, which determined a new direction in medicine.
In 2005, the first face transplant was performed in France - one of the most complicated and large-scale operations in history. Since then, more than 30 transplants with a successful outcome have been recorded. Tragic situations are also known. For example, a Chinese man, Goshin Li, who underwent surgery well, escaped from the hospital and died while trying to be treated at home.
The first successful face transplant in Russia took place in May 2015. The discovery of new opportunities was a powerful incentive for the development of modern surgery and gave many patients the hope of a possible recovery. When the first face transplant took place in Russia, a photo of the patient and the doctors who took part in the most complicated operation flew around the world.
Patients
A face transplant is a difficult and very rare operation. The history of each of the patients who received a chance of recovery from irreversible lesions, was publicly announced. In some cases, the question of the aesthetic feelings of crippled people was resolved, in others, life was at stake. Many victims lost the ability to hear, take food on their own, see and even breathe due to severe facial lesions.
In each individual case, the decision about the operation was made by both the plastic surgeon and the patient, since the process involves a serious risk to the health and life of the patient. A face transplant was carried out for those who suffered as a result of a fire, became a victim of an attack, and paid for their mistakes and those of others.
Surgical difficulties
During the operation, doctors face many difficulties. To achieve the best cosmetic effect, surgeons have to work with a holistic flap of skin that does not take root well. Not only the epithelium undergoes restoration, but also muscles, cartilage, bone tissue.
As a rule, many organs of the victim are so damaged that they need to be replaced. A face transplant requires a donor whose tissues are examined over a long period to avoid possible complications. Preparation for the operation takes more than a year, which goes into the selection of an individual tissue complex for the patient, its examination and preparation of donor organs. The entire procedure, including the rehabilitation period, costs several million dollars.
The operation is complex and consists of several stages, each of which requires coordinated work between specialists, concentration and attentiveness. Transplantation lasts more than 10 hours, and for complete recovery it is often necessary to do several operations.
Rehabilitation period
Most large-scale operations often cause complications in the postoperative period. Face transplant surgery is no exception. Difficulties are associated with the adaptation of foreign tissues and the germination of blood vessels in them. The latest technology and rigorous research helps minimize the risk of complications.
Recovery after transplantation continues for several years. Throughout their lives, patients are forced to take drugs that do not allow tissue rejection. Much attention is paid to the psychological work with a person who has to harmoniously get along with a new appearance. Despite the difficulties, each of them is grateful for the gift of the opportunity to enjoy life again, without embarrassing his face.
Patrick Hardison
In 2001, a firefighter tried to save a woman from a blazing building.
Unfortunately, the attempt led to severe burns that disfigured Patrick's entire face and upper body. His ears, nose, lips and eyelids burned out, the man almost lost his sight and faith in a brighter future. He urgently needed a face transplant. Before and after: this is how tragedy divided the life of the victim.
Over the course of several years, the fireman underwent more than 70 preliminary operations; preparation for the transplantation itself took about a year.
After 26 hours spent on the operating table in the company of more than 100 medical workers, Patrick found a new face. This is the first operation in history during which the victim was completely replaced with his own face as a donor.
Isabelle Dinouard
In 2005, the first partial face transplantation in the world was performed in France, during which the patient was transplanted not only skin, but also nose, lips, chin. According to experts, these parts cause the greatest difficulties in transplanting. The success of the transplant inspired the rest of the plastic surgeons to further develop such an incredible operation as a face transplant. The photo before and after rehabilitation clearly demonstrates the positive changes in the external appearance of the victim.
Isabelle Dinouard was disfigured by her own dog. Wanting to take her own life, the woman drank a lot of sleeping pills. The dog could not wake the mistress, and a desperate labrador bit his face Isabelle. She woke up in a pool of blood, and after washing, found that half of her face was missing. Surgeons immediately decided that organ restoration was not possible and offered transplantation to the victim.
Dallas vince
In 2011, a man from Texas became the owner of the new look. Three years before the operation, he received a powerful electric shock, as a result of which the upper part of the face instantly melted. They fought for his life for a day and a half, but his eyes, nose, lips and other organs were completely burned out. The man lived for several years literally without a face, ate through a tube, but did not despair. Despite his injuries, he recovered and was able to walk. A stronger man was waiting for a face transplant. A photo taken after the efforts made by plastic surgeons indicates that the victim's appearance has been completely changed.
After the operation, Dallas spoke again, his sense of smell returned. Unfortunately, vision was not subject to restoration, however, the patient was able to re-learn almost all the features of facial expressions. Today, his face is almost completely functional, which not all patients who have undergone such an operation can boast.
Oscar
In 2005, an accident occurred with a Spanish farmer. As a result of a gunshot wound, the man almost completely lost his face, being left without a nose, teeth, lips, cheekbones. According to one version, Oscar (under this name a man is represented on the Internet) shot himself, by chance. The victim lived with this problem for five years, until another nuisance fell on him - his mouth was puffed up, depriving the man of the opportunity to eat, talk and even breathe.
In 2010, one of the longest face transplant operations in the history of plastic surgery was performed. Surgeons had to restore many lost organs and tissues. Thanks to the efforts of doctors, Oscar was again able to eat and breathe on its own.
Carmen Tarleton
Her story is just as tragic as the rest of the patients who need a face transplant. A forty-year-old woman was attacked by her ex-husband, who mutilated Carmen beyond recognition.
He mutilated the body and face of his wife with a bat and a bottle of acid. The victim of violence spent three months in a coma, and over the next five years she had to undergo 55 operations. The disfigured body was literally assembled in parts, sewing new skin on the burned areas, taken from her own legs and from donors.
Unfortunately, the efforts of the surgeons helped save Carmen's life, but did not return her face, and with it the ability to speak, eat independently, and smile. In 2013, doctors performed another experimental operation, transplanting the face of a 56-year-old woman to the patient. After a difficult and long rehabilitation, Carmen again learned to eat, talk, breathe and perform other manipulations that seem simple to a healthy person. She found the strength to forgive her ex-husband and even wrote a book about her difficult fate. Not only the appearance, but also the woman’s life was changed by a face transplant: photos before and after the tragedy make it possible to see for yourself.
Richard Norris
After an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide by shot in the head with a shotgun, the young man was forced to hide from strangers for a long fifteen years. Then, in 1997, doctors were able to save his life, but the mutilated face was not restored - the bones were fragmented, the jaw was deformed, the tongue was practically absent. Richard appeared on the street only at night, in a cap and a mask hiding his disfigured face.
Fifteen years later, the mother of the victim found a doctor ready to undergo face reconstruction surgery, and the failed suicide immediately agreed to take the risk. In 2012, the man underwent a 36-hour operation, giving him a new look. Richard's face was assembled from several donors, whose tissues, surprisingly, quickly took root. Now he is not accompanied by the goggles of passers-by. He again learned to speak, eat and even smile on his own. A face transplant before and after a full recovery was the only possible way out of this situation. Fortunately, it all ended happily.
Face transplant in Russia
Domestic surgeons opened the way to a new, normal life for a soldier who received a severe burn of his whole body, as a result of which his face was irreversibly damaged. Thirty operations were performed to save and restore a person, but plastic surgeons could not completely solve the problem of the victim.
The first face transplant operation in Russia was performed, as already mentioned, in May 2015. Moscow doctors have been preparing for this for three years, rehearsing on an exact copy of the patient’s face model. Transplantation, in which eight surgeons took part, took more than 15 hours. The event was made public only in November, when specialists were completely confident in the successful outcome of the operation and the well-being of the patient. The aspirations of the doctors were justified: a face transplant in Russia, a photo of a rescued person, an encouraging result became a triumph of Russian plastic surgery.
Improving technology and accumulated experience allow us to carry out the most incredible tasks, giving hope for recovery to desperate people. A face transplant, of course, will not become a mass procedure in the near future, as it requires a huge investment of effort, time, money. Nevertheless, in Russia it is planned to continue such operations for patients with appropriate medical conditions.