Face Transplant

Wow! In an operation that took almost one day, transplant surgeons gave a woman with severe facial damage, an entirely new face from a cadaver. This was necessary as she could not eat on her own, or breathe without a hole in her windpipe, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic said on Wednesday December 18th, 2008. The woman’s identity was not disclosed, nor was the cause of her injury or the donor’s identity, however this is a major advance in transplanting and a highly experimental procedure. Dr. Maria Siemionow, a native of Poland, led the surgical team, which took turns at the operating table, of the the world’s fourth partial face transplant, the USA's first.

The Cleveland Clinic institutional review board said in 2004 that a face transplant was ethical and possible and approved Dr. Siemionow’s scientific blueprint for the experimental procedure. It was the first time any ethics committee in the world had given such permission. Medical ethicist's said Wednesday that in face transplant surgery the risks and benefits to the patient must be weighed carefully. The benefits of a face transplant are not only cosmetic, Dr. Finder said, adding, “The repair of the face can also have significant social consequences — like the ability to speak, or the ability to eat, that can be replaced because of having lips.”

To read more about this amazing procedure click the link to the New York Times:-http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/health/s18face.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=face%20transplant&st=cse

To see the video on ABC click:- http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6486752 or simply view the embedded video below from ITN:-