Chinese man gets new face
14/04/2006 18:59  - (SA)  

Want to know more? Answerit can help.

More face transplants planned Woman grateful for new face Face transplant woman smoking Face transplant doctors worried 'She can swallow, eat' Transplant woman gains feeling Patients meet face to face

Beijing - Chinese doctors have performed the country's first face transplant, the second operation of its kind in the world.

Xinhua, the state's official news agency, reported the 30-year-old patient had two thirds of his face replaced in a 14 hour operation on Friday.

Han Yan, deputy director of the plastic surgery department of the Xijing Hospital in Xian, said: "The surgery is even more complex than the first face transplant in France in November last year."

Surgeons in France carried out the world's first face transplant on Isabelle Dinoire, 38, whose lips and nose were torn off by her dog.

According to Xinhua, the Chinese patient was given a new cheek, upper lip, nose, and an eyebrow from a single donor.

The patient was attacked by a bear in 2004 and has since, according to the agency, "lived as a recluse because of his horrific disfigurement".

Xinhua said the patient was recovering, but it would take six months for feeling to be restored to the new face, and he needed to overcome psychological and ethical problems.

What is this? Yahoo Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Brought to you by OUTsurance Car Insurance
	News24 Headlines on your Facebook profile		News24 on mobile