CNN - Woman 'has first face transplant'

[Taverner]

CNN) -- Doctors in France say they have performed the first partial face transplant on a woman who had suffered extensive injuries in a dog attack.

A joint statement from hospitals in Lyon and Amiens in northern France said on Wednesday the surgery took place Sunday in Amiens on a 38-year-old woman, replacing her nose, lips and chin.

The woman was in "excellent" condition and that the transplanted organs look "normal," the statement said. She wants to remain anonymous, it added.

Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard, one of the surgeons who performed the transplant at Amiens University Hospital, told The Associated Press the transplant was the world's first of its kind.

<snip>


http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/11/30/france.face/index.html

OK...now ethically, I think this is a good thing, however ethics must always be considered here - as I forsee the rich harvesting the faces of the poor for a price....

[edbermac]

1. Holy shit, here's a picture of her...

I'd hate to see what she looked like before the surgery...

[Dark]

7. GHAAAAA! Post a warning before showing something THAT graphic nt

[SofaKingLiberal]

13. Yeah, what Dark said.

[CatBoreal]

2. I wonder how much this changes her facial features...

...besides the obvious scars an such. How much does bone structure / skull shape dictate what a face looks like as opposed to the actual, um... meat?

Edited because I can't spell.

[XemaSab]

3. I read a long article about it

and they said she wouldn't look anything like the donor. Facial structure plays a huge part.

[SoCalDem]

8. I hope the anti-rejection meds work for her..

It would be horrible to risk death from rejection . I can understand why she would want to look less disfugured though.. a tough one.

[LostinVA]

17. The article said she'll look halfway between herself and the donor

Bone structure plays a huge part in it.

I personally think it;'s great. So many people will be able to have somewhat normal lives. Good for the Froggies.

[AllegroRondo]

4. Wow, this was on Nip/Tuck last week

amazing

[Orangepeel]

5. why would it be different than any other transplant?

the rich won't be able to harvest the faces of the poor anymore than they can harvest the livers, kidneys, hearts, lungs, cornea, etc. of the poor.

It might happen (it is a ripe subject for urban legends and Law & Order episodes), but the transplantation of organs, at least in the US, is a very tightly controlled process and there is no exploitation of the poor to benefit the rich (only "exploitation" of the dead to benefit the very sick).

[Orangepeel]

12. I forgot to add:

1. Re: rich vs. poor -- It is difficult if not impossible to get a transplant if you don't have insurance, but IMO, that's a problem with how difficult it is to get Medicare (which covers transplants) rather than the transplant system. If somebody needs a transplant to stay alive, they OUGHT to be considered disabled, and, if they are disabled, they should get Medicare immediately (not 2 years and five months later, which is how it is now).

2. Nobody would get a face transplant out of vanity, only if they had been severely damaged to the degree that it made life difficult. In addition to scars, for transplanted organs to be accepted by a body, the immune system has to be severely weakened. This involves taking massive amounts of large smelly pills twice a day, wearing a mask in crowded places for a long time and being extremely susceptible to infection for the rest of your life.

[LisaL]

15. Other transplants are life saving. The face transplant is not.

That's why there is so much debate-is it o'key for a person to risk their life for not a life threatening condition?

[Orangepeel]

18. that's a good question, albeit a different one

The original post questioned the ethics of the transplant based on the possibility that poor donors would be exploited by rich people.

And, not all transplants are life saving. Cornea transplants are an obvious example. And, many kidney transplant patients can live long lives with dialysis and medication. Of course, the quality of their lives is very poor. Arguably, a person with a severely disfigured face has as many problems living as a blind person or a person who has to be hooked up to a painful machine several hours a day.

[LisaL]

21. Face transplants are mostly cosmetic. Sure, disfigured face

affects quality of life, but in most cases, people can eat, work, do whatever it is they were doing before the accident, unless, of course, they were models. Blind person obviously can not do things that normal people can do. By the way, I am not arguing about a face transplant at all. Every person should be able to decide for themselves whether the risk is worth it. Obviously, people have plastic surgery every day, and they are completely healthy. Nobody is telling them to stop. I mean, if someone can risk their life for breast implants (however small the risk is, it's still surgery), then why shouldn't someone horribly disfigured get a new face?

[Orangepeel]

23. I should have phrased the question in my original post differently

and asked, in response to the OP, "why would this type of transplant be any less ethical than any other type of transplant?"

My position is that it is just as ethical because I accept the idea that physical deformities can be as debilitating as physical disabilities.

[CatBoreal]

24. It mentioned that the surgery would be used for burn victims...

...I wonder if that would help burn patients skin breathe.

I remember after the big blackout, a burn victim (over 70% of his body) died in his apartment because there was the airconditioning didn't work. Seems that burn scars don't sweat, and he died of heat stroke.

I wonder if this technology could be used for burn victims. Doctors do skin grafts, but maybe they can now move into including the subcutaneous layers as well?

[CottonBear]

25. This woman had no lips, chin or nose and could not function normally.

Her face was eaten off by a dog. :(

[atomic-fly]

6. They should make a movie!

[Texasgal]

9. Tav...

YOU want to talk about ETHICS??? :rofl:




















Just kidding! :P

[NNadir]

10. I am probably in need of this surgery.

However I'll skip it.

I don't have to look at me.

[redqueen]

16. It always makes me sad when people post stuff like this.

Use the sarcasm tag or risk me sending encouraging/borderline motherly PMs.

[NNadir]

26. Abraham Lincoln told this story.

He said he was walking in the woods when he came upon a man with a gun. The man said to Abe, "Sir, I am afraid you must be prepared to die, for I have sworn a solemn oath that the first time I encounter a man uglier than myself, I will shoot him."

Abe opened his shirt and stuck out his chest. "Sir," he said, "fire at will. For if I am indeed uglier than you, I don't deserve to live."

I wonder though, if Abe was indeed an ugly man. If so, the way he lived his life, no one seems to remember it.

[CanuckAmok]

11. Don't be ridiculous!

Poor people are ugly. Why would the beautiful rich want their faces?

[trof]

14. creepy

[Fleshdancer]

19. I heard she was two faced

(stupid jokes are allowed in the lounge, right?)

[Jamastiene]

20. Now, let's take up donations for Ann Coulter's surgery.

Please? She needs it.

[Pithlet]

22. I think this is great.

If it works to improve the quality of life of people who are severely disfigured, then I'm all for it. If they add parts of the face to the donar list, then I'll add that along with my heart, kidneys, etc. to my donor card.