Face Transplant Risks Life in Pursuit of Social Approval

Charla Nash hopes to undergo additional reconstructive surgery

(NEWSER) - Charla Nash, who was mauled and blinded by a friend’s chimpanzee in February 2009, left the Cleveland Clinic yesterday. She “has made great progress in her recovery,” the hospital said in a statement. Nash will continue rehabilitation at a Boston-area assisted-living center and hopes to undergo more reconstructive surgery, the AP reports. In January, the Cleveland Clinic told Nash’s family it could not perform a face and hand transplant. More»

(NEWSER) - The nation's first face-transplant recipient met the public for the first time since her December operation, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Connie Culp, who had been shot by her husband in 2004 and essentially lost the middle of her face, has "progressed tremendously," said one of her doctors at the Cleveland Clinic. Today, Culp can breathe and eat on her own and eventually will be able to smile. More»

Facial reconstruction experts to aid woman suffering horrific injuries

(NEWSER) - The woman whose face was horrifically injured by a crazed chimpanzee has been transferred to the clinic that performed America's first face transplant, the Stamford Times reports. The woman was in surgery for 7 hours after the attack on Monday and was still in critical condition when she was transferred yesterday, although her vital signs had improved slightly. More»

Subject of experimental surgery released after a 2-month recovery

(NEWSER) - The subject of the first face transplant performed in America was released from the hospital yesterday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The patient left after 2 months of recovery from the experimental, 23-hour procedure. She enjoys being able to once again drink from a cup and taste a hamburger, the lead surgeon said. More»

Unnamed patient now has 'face to face the world:' surgeon

(NEWSER) - Cleveland Clinic officials say the woman who underwent the most comprehensive face transplant yet exhausted conventional options before agreeing to the risky 22-hour procedure in which 80% of her face was replaced with a cadaver’s. The unnamed patient lacked a nose or palate and couldn’t eat or breathe without a special opening to her windpipe. She had been humiliated and ridiculed, USA Today reports. More»