One Year On From Pioneering Face Transplant, Patient Says Surgery Has "Given Me Back My Life"

[FLPanhandle]

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/one-year-on-pioneering-face-transplant-patient-surgery-given-back-life/



A year on from his one-of-a-kind face transplant, Patrick Hardison has said that the “surgery has truly given me back my life,” adding that he recently went on a family vacation to Disney World and swam in the pool with his kids – something he hadn’t done in 15 years.

“I go about my day just like everyone else,” Hardison explained at a press conference at NYU Langone Medical Center, the institute where the operation took place back in August 2015. “It’s allowed me to do things with my family that I had not been able to do. I can’t tell you what a sense of freedom it is to even drive my kids to school.”

Since his new face was attached, he has had several more minor operations to adjust his new eyelids and lips, to remove the feeding tube from his abdomen and the breathing tube from his trachea, and remove some excess skin. The pictures speak for themselves – compared to how Hardison looked before the operation, it’s now impossible to tell he was ever involved in a traumatic accident back in 2001.

“There are no more stares, no more frightened children running away from me. I’m pretty much just a normal guy,” he said. “Now, I want to help others to pursue this type of surgery, especially fellow firefighters and members of the armed services. There definitely is hope.”

[uppityperson]

1. It is so great that they can do these. K&r

[malaise]

2. Wow

Science and medicine matter

[hunter]

5. Science and medicine matter.

Yes they do.

[ChazII]

3. I am thankful for crania-facial teams

who have the skill and the knowledge to help.

[CentralMass]

4. K&R

[pinboy3niner]

6. I've had reconstuctive surgery but nowhere near THIS extensive

Mine was like going in for a dental filling compared to this.

I had my left lower jaw rebuilt three times, and I'm not sure I even needed the pastic surgery they did. One VA doc later blocked my teeth implants because I didn't want to consider more plastic surgery.

What they're doing now is truly amazing!

[mountain grammy]

7. Wonderful, I'm so happy for this man.

[suffragette]

8. This is amazing. Science really beats sci-fi on this one with such a wonderful outcome.

[lillypaddle]

9. Amazing nt

[LisaL]

10. And it wasn't just for cosmetic reasons.

He was going blind because he had no eyelids to protect his eyes.