Back when John Travolta and Nicholas Cage starred in the (what then seemed like legitimate fictional) film Face Off, no one would have believed a procedure like that was technically possible. Granted, that premise is still totally ridiculous, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic have actually completely recreated the face of a patient who was severely injured in a car accident.
According to a news release from Cleveland Clinic, a 24.5-hour surgery in late September involving nine surgeons and multiple specialists performed the hospital’s second face transplant on the middle-aged man. The surgery included transplantation of about two-thirds of the scalp, the forehead, upper and lower eyelids, eye sockets, nose, upper cheeks, upper jaw, upper teeth, facial nerves, salivary glands, facial muscles, and skin, effectively replacing about 90 percent of the patient’s face.
“I am grateful beyond words to the donor and his family for their amazing gift,” said the patient. “I thank the Lord for the strength he’s given all of us to carry us through this, because we couldn’t do this on our own. I would like to thank the Cleveland Clinic – all the surgeons and staff who helped me, so many talented hands helping me in so many ways. I learned through this process that it’s so important that we raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. Your driver’s license donor card is not enough; please talk to your loved ones about your further donation wishes. God bless us all.”
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The patient is recovering well with close monitoring to his immune system. He is breathing on his own and his remaining vision was recovered because of the surgery.
