Second full face transplant performed
Less than a month after the nation’s first full face transplant was performed at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, doctors there have performed the second, the Associated Press reports.
Boston - Less than a month after the nation’s first full face transplant was performed at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, doctors there have performed the second, the Associated Press reports.
In a 14-hour operation, a team of more than 30 doctors, nurses and other staff replaced the full facial area of Mitch Hunter, a 30-year-old Speedway, Ind., man who came into contact with a high-voltage electrical wire following a 2001 auto accident.
The procedure replaced Mr. Hunter’s nose, eyelids, lips, facial animation muscles and nerves. The family of the donor requested anonymity.
The AP reports that the procedure went smoothly and that doctors expect Mr. Hunter to have a successful recovery.
About a dozen face transplants have been done worldwide, in the United States, France, Spain and China. The first U.S. full face transplant was performed on a Texas construction worker last month at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
