11-year-old may have face transplant

[Thom Little]

An 11-year-old girl will likely become the first person in China to undergo a face transplant.

Liu Fangyuan was severely burned by her aunt when she was 9 years old, the People's Daily Online reported. She said she would rather die in surgery than by suicide because of the distress caused by her burns.

A research team at the General Hospital of Nanjing Military Command has started an experiment program on the facial surgery. Hong Zhijian, the team leader, said their first operation would probably be made on Liu Fangyuan.

Hong said there is very little risk of the girl dying in the operation.



http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051227-074245-6996r

[FlemingsGhost]

1. Who is the donor?

Seriously. What exactly is a face transplant.

[Kiouni]

2. I would

assume that a face transplant is when you actually graft some one else's skin (organ) onto a recipient. connection the muscle tissue and tendons and so forth. this should be too complicated given the fact this it is some what done everyday in america for water down version face lifts. they had a hand transplant in i believe kentucky for the first time a while back and it was big news. the hand later didn't take and died so thats the primary concern i would think if your new hand dies your no different but if they remove your face and it dies then ahhhh i think your up a certain creek with out a paddle.

[bleedingheart]

5. actually if the skin transplant doesn't take the girl will live but

will have the same disfigured look..

The rejected transplant will be removed and then grafts will be placed on her skin...made from her own skin. the problem is that the grafts are not normally that attractive. To make them in many cases they will put a piece of skin through a device which stretches it and makes it larger to cover the larger area it must cover.

The individual who figures out how to grow skin that will seamlessly blend with your own...will be a saviour...

[Javaman]

6. Actually, I just read a report on the hand transplant person..

The hand did take. He has movement of his thumb and forefinger but the rust move in unison. The latest report came about because he stated that he now is able to feel hot and cold sensations. However, he still can tell the difference between, say, rubber and cotton. Interesting stuff.

[Hekate]

3. Like most organ donors, a face-donor would be dead first

A face-transplant was successfully performed in France quite recently. It made all the news, so you can google for it and get diagrams, explanations,etc.

The woman in France had her face ripped off by a dog she rescued from the local animal shelter. (The dog, understandably, was subsequently put to sleep). She had no nose left, no lips, jaw muscles had been severed, she couldn't chew or swallow properly. She couldn't go out in public without a mask. Her social life was effectively over, and her personal life was no picnic either.

Time was of the essence. If the transplant team waited too long, too much scar tissue would have hardened into place. That's why I question whether the Chinese girl's transplant surgery will be successful -- it's been two years.

In France, consent for organ donation is assumed; a family has to go out of its way to say no if they don't want their loved one's spare parts used. (I've carried an organ donor card for over 30 years, and "spare parts" is how I think of what I will no longer have a use for some day.) However, because of the highly personal nature of a face, the family was asked first if it was okay with them.

The skin, muscle, cartilage, tendons, were taken from the donor by a highly skilled transplant team. It was not the entire face, but nose, lips, chin, and so on that were missing from the recipient. There is really no chance that the end result will look like the donor's face, as the recipient has a different bone structure.

The transplant patient will have to take anti-rejection drugs like anyone else. I hope this is very successful -- a mutilating facial injury is a terrible fate. It has nothing to do with "vanity" or getting a face lift; it's about giving someone their life back.

Hekate

[oblivious]

4. That was most informative. Thank you.

[applegrove]

7. What a brave girl. Would that the world was not so cruel.