Irish Surgeon Plans World’s First Full Face Transplant

IT’S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME at this point. The race to find the world’s first volunteer for a full face transplant will get under way this week if a British hospital approves proposals for the procedure from an Irish plastic surgeon. There have been partial face transplants in the past, but no one has attempted a full face transplant yet, although Cork born Irish plastic surgeon Peter Butler has been trying to make this happen for over 14 years. It looks like his efforts are about to pay off for one lucky (and potentially Irish) patient.

Butler and his medical team at the Royal Free hospital in northwest London will meet its ethics board on Wednesday to seek approval for the controversial surgery. This is the last obstacle which must be passed before Butler will be allowed to proceed with the operation. Last December the ethics board, which regulates the Cork surgeon’s work, granted permission for Butler and his 30-strong team of researchers to identify a patient for the operation. The project was given a further boost last month when the board approved a consent process allowing Butler’s team to educate patients on the risks involved.

Butler is looking to hear from Irish volunteers for the operation. In particular he interviewed a list of folks back in 2003 but it was not possible to proceed any further at that point. Now that he looks likely to be given the green light this coming week, Butler is hoping to hear from those patients again as he will then be in a position to go the whole way and schedule the operation. If you or someone you know needs this type of surgery you can contact Butler at his website, Facetrust.com.

I didn’t realise we had such high profile surgeons in this country (or at least from this country, working in the UK), but it looks like this lad might just get to be first in the record books for this amazing surgical procedure. However this procedure is not without its risks and after effects. If you are squeemish then don’t read on but if you want to find out just how the hell they perform this minor mircale then the following paragraphs are for you…

In the operation, the facial tissue of the donor corpse from the hairline to the jawline must be removed, with its layer of fat, nerves and blood vessels within six to 12 hours of death, while in a nearby theatre the skin of the transplant patient is detached.

The blood vessels are clamped and the muscles and nerves left in place. If the patient’s body rejects the face, he or she will lose both their own and the new one. Even after a successful operation the recipient is unlikely to look much like the donor,which could be reassuring to the dead person’s family. But neither will they look like their old pre-traumatised self. Patients will also face a lifetime of taking immunosuppressant drugs.

G’wan the Irish