First hands and face transplants

A French medical team was at a Paris clinic for the first time transplanted a human at the same two hands and almost the entire face.
The now 30-year-old Frenchman was operating in an accident in 2004 had suffered such severe burns to his facial muscles and fingers were completely destroyed. The patient could no longer participate in social life, said the responsible surgeon. The operation at the Hospital Henri Mondor in Créteil, near Paris, took 30 hours.

found a year the patient was on the waiting list for transplantation until a suitable donor was. The doctors transplanted the man both hands above the wrists. This was the facial area above the lips, including nose, ears, eyelids, eyebrows and hair. The medical team was operating on weekends through the night.



French Leaders

French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin congratulated the doctors Laurent Lantieri, Jean-Paul Méningaud, Christian Dumontier and its roughly 40 employees to its success. She lifted it out the courage of patients and praised the protrusion of the French GP. Until now, six facial transplants worldwide, of which there were four instead of in France. The first hand was transferred in 1998 in Lyon, the first face Amiens in 2005.

"The surgery is particularly difficult because the nerves in the lids are very fine," the doctors said at a news conference. Moreover, it is very difficult to link the tear ducts exactly. Laurent Lantieri was the third face transfer.


Recovery in an artificial coma

The patient was in generally good condition, said the doctor. He was put into an artificial coma to promote healing. The risk that the body rejecting the foreign tissue is not higher, according to experts, when large parts of the body are transplanted. The risk remains even after overcoming the critical first phase of a lifetime and must be kept under control with medication.