First Face Transplant Patient Smiles—Slightly

First such transplant patient shares her new perspective

(NEWSER) - Isabelle Dinoire, the French woman who in November 2005 received the world's first partial face transplant, has taught herself how to eat and speak again, but what she really wants to learn, the Guardian reports, is how to kiss. In a new book published in France yesterday, Dinoire describes her slow adjustment to living with another woman's face after surgery. More»

But it won't pay for replacements

(NEWSER) - The Venezuelan government has offered to pay for the removal of defective breast implants for its own citizens, reports the BBC . The implants were produced by a now-defunct French company and are filled with industrial grade silicone—increasing their chance of rupturing. Replacement implants, however, will not be covered. More»

(NEWSER) - A French man who received a groundbreaking face and double hand transplant to repair damage from severe burns has died from a massive infection, reports the Independent. The patient, 30, suffered a heart attack during surgery to battle a super bug invasion in his face. Despite the problem, his body did not reject the transplants, said doctors. He was the sixth person in the world to receive a face transplant. One other died in China after ceasing drugs to fight rejection of transplanted organs. More»

Landmark operation in clinic where docs performed world's first face transplant

(NEWSER) - A burn victim has received a new face and hands in a ground-breaking transplant surgery in France, reports the Times of London. A team of 40 doctors worked 30 hours in the same Paris hospital that performed the world's first face transplant in 2005 and first hand transplant in 1998. The new hands were grafted above the patient's wrists, and his nose, eyelids, forehead, scalp and ears were replaced. The 30-year-old man suffered horrific burns in 2004. More»

Why change the face when we could change our behaviors?

(NEWSER) - A face transplant completed at a Cleveland clinic may be a medical triumph, but, William Saletan wonders on Slate, does the social necessity outweigh the physical risk? Severe facial damage affected the woman’s physical functions, but surgeons also argue that “social functions” such as communication are equally essential. This logic creates a dangerous precedent because it means taking social humiliations more seriously than life. More»