Clevelend Clinic Face Transplant Animation, Q&A

The face transplant started at 5:30 PM one day, and was not complete until 4:30 PM the next day. This includes procedures on both the donor and the recipient.

When asked about the ethical concerns over a facial transplant, the response was:

The surgery is not without serious risks, including rejection of the tissue, and a lifelong commitment to immunosuppressing medications, which can lead to infection and other diseases. Some experts question the value of such risk, considering that facial disfigurement is not a life-threatening situation.

However, facial disfigurement is life-altering, affecting a person’s quality of life. Many people with facial disfigurement become recluses, choosing not to be exposed to a public that will stare, taunt, or react with fear.

Good candidates must demonstrate strong psychological stability, resiliency, responsibility, and self reliance. They must have exhausted all other possible approaches to correct function and disfigurement. And they must have enough healthy skin elsewhere on their bodies to serve as a skin graft if the transplant is rejected.

One final question of note, particularly for those who watched the movie, Face-Off: Will the patient look like the donor?

The answer is no. Even though some bone was transferred from the donor to the recipient, the underlying facial structure of any two people is very different. Plus, a person’s identity is more than skin and bones, relying on expression, animation, and social interaction.

Watch a short animated video that shows how the procedure was done, attached to this story.