Doctors put a new face on transplant surgery

Filed in archive Cases on June 19, 2006

Only months after Isabelle Dinoire received the world's first partial face transplant in France, doctors at London's Royal Free Hospital are making plans to offer the world's first full face transplant.

Dr. Peter Butler, a consultant plastic surgeon at Royal Free Hospital, has been contacted by 29 disfigured volunteers who are willing to be among the first to undergo the cutting edge procedure. British newspapers reported that the Royal Free Hospital's ethics committee is expected to approve the first operations on Wednesday, June 21st.

Dr. Butler's team consists of 30 medical professionals who have spent the last 10 years studying face transplants. The doctor believes that he and his team have done all they can to prepare for the new surgery and now is the time to offer it. According to news reports, Butler plans to perform the surgery on four or five patients to start, in order to establish scientific validity. Potential candidates for the new procedure include a 22 year old patient who was badly burned as a child.

Although I hope I never need to have a face transplant, I think it's exciting that those who have suffered debilitating scars from accidents and diseases may soon have the opportunity to show the world a new face if they choose.

About the author: In her spare time, knotheadus writes for Epinions.com and maintains her own Web site, knot-heads.com.