Surgeons successfully perform full face transplant
A team of surgeons has successfully performed a face transplant for a 26-year-old man who had a self-inflicted gun injury. The team used facial skin from a donor to replace much of the man's face, as well as partially replacing his bone structure.
A team of over 100 medical professionals at New York University (NYU) Langone in New York City performed the transplant.
Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez — the Helen L. Kimmel professor of reconstructive plastic surgery and chair of the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone — led the surgical team.
The patient's name is Cameron Underwood. He is a 26-year-old man who lost most of his lower jaw, teeth, and nose as a result of a self-inflicted accidental gunshot.
The man had also damaged his maxillary and palate as a result of the accident.
Dr. Rodriguez and his team performed the transplant surgery on January 5, 2018. The procedure lasted 25 hours and ended the following morning.
Since then, the NYU Langone specialists have performed several follow-up procedures, and they now report on their achievement and the techniques they used.
'Maximal aesthetic and functional results'
To carry out the transplant, the surgeons used several cutting-edge technologies. For instance, the following techniques allowed the surgeons to place the grafted face with a high level of precision:
- 3-D computer surgical planning
- 3-D-printed cutting guides tailored to the patient
- intraoperative navigation
- intraoperative CAT scan
The surgeons used the entire middle and lower parts of the donor's face and skull to complete the transplant. In all, they replaced and reconstructed the patient's upper and lower jaws, 32 teeth and gums, the roof and floor of the mouth, the lower eyelids and cheeks, and the nose and part of the nasal passage.
