[SavageGlow]

A 41-year-old firefighter sustained a burn injury in 2001, while in the line of duty. The injury left him with a full facial and total scalp burn. After the initial injury, the patient underwent more than 70 reconstructive procedures without any improvements in functional or aesthetic outcomes.

In August 2015, the patient underwent a total face, scalp, eyelids, ears and skeletal subunit transplant. A nerve stimulation was used to confirm the muscular function and facial innervation. The findings showed that the patient’s recipient nerve was intact.

The patient was followed up after 20 months of facial transplantation. There was a decrease in muscle volume in the initial postoperative period and a progressive increase was seen starting 6 months. Similarly, the muscle volumes exceeded the pretransplant values at the latest time point.



No, it's not gory but it is an exceptional outcome.

[marcos_69]

Poor guy. Glad they could help him.

[SavageGlow]

Originally Posted by marcos_69 ↗

Poor guy. Glad they could help him.

That's what I was thinking. I know it changed his whole life.

[kellyhound]

PATRICK Hardison was maimed when a burning building collapsed on him but he now says he fells like "a normal guy" for the first time in 15 years.

Patrick Hardison, 42, said he can now eat, see, hear and breathe normally, thanks to last year's operation. He has a full head of hair and visits the gym twice a week.

Speaking at the Langone Medical Centre in New York, Mr Hardison said: "Before the transplant, every day I had to wake up and get myself motivated to "face" the world.

"Now I don't worry about people pointing and staring or kids running away crying... I'm happy."

Mr Hardison was a volunteer firefighter in Senatobia, Mississippi, when a building collapsed on him in 2001.

Mr Hardison has no scars on his face, and although he resembles his old self, some of his features are different. His eyes are smaller and his face is rounder, but he still has sandy brown hair.

"I don't get up and look in the mirror and focus on that," he said. "I get up and just go along with my day."

The divorced father of five said one of the best moments of his life was seeing his children for the first time after the August 2015 surgery. Four of his children attended the news conference.

His 21-year-old daughter, Alison, said she cried after seeing him because she was so relieved.

"I walked into the room and I was just speechless," she said. "He gave me a hug and our cheeks touched, and his cheeks were kind of warm, and that was something I hadn't felt in 14 years."

She said her father "wasn't normal on the inside" before the surgery.

"He was very unhappy," Ms Hardison said. "Now he's happy with himself and happy with life."

Mr Hardison can finally drive and live independently thanks to his new field of vision. Previously, he could see only through "pinholes" because doctors had sewed his eyelids partially shut to protect his eyes, he said.

Eduardo Rodriguez, chairman of Langone's plastic surgery department, said Mr Hardison has not had any issues with transplant rejection, which is due to his medication, his children and his strength.

"He's a remarkable individual," Mr Rodriguez said.


The surgery is estimated to cost about £755,000, according to New York University's Langone Medical Centre, but the hospital covered the cost.

Mr Rodriguez was recently awarded £1.9 million from the Defence Department to continue face transplant research.


Amazing job

[Nates8er]

Amazing!! This doc did a great job

[heartsong]

The donor's mother is so kind and strong.