A face transplant is a cosmetic surgery procedure that replaces all or a portion of a person’s face. The world’s first ever face transplant don’t on a human was done in France in 2005 while the first full face transplant in the world was performed in Spain two years ago.
People with faces flawed by burns, trauma, birth defect or disease might cosmetically benefit from the surgery. Another option to a face transplant is getting a patient’s own skin from his buttocks, back or thighs to be used to their face in a sequence of 50 operations in order to recover limited functions.
After a year of having face transplant, there are some patients who have regained motor and sensory functions including the ability to smile, chew food and speak. This is according to a study done by experts.
There were four patients in the study who have undergone face transplants between the years 2009 and 2011. At the start, the patients couldn’t breathe using their new nose or mouths and needed breathing tubes. Also, they couldn’t chew or speak and couldn’t feel objects touching their skin’s surface.
However, after a year of the transplant there are some patients who can breathe, talk and eat without difficulty. The patients also recovered their ability to smell and were capable of making facial expressions and are better at socializing.
These breakthroughs depended on whether the major nerves of the body were reconnected with the nerves in the transplanted face. Unfortunately in some patients, the severe damage they got from their injuries made it impossible to reconnect their nerves in several parts.
The study was also presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in New Orleans. The study revealed that a face transplant is more than one way of creating a pleasant face. It is also a way for the patients to become functional again.
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