To date, over thirty face transplants have been performed worldwide since 2005. Although advances in facial transplantation surgery now offer the possibility of societal reintegration to persons who suffer from severe facial disfiguration, speech deficits can persist. This paper reports on the speech characteristics of five patients following facial transplantation and relates them to labial st...

The ethical discussion of facial allograft transplantation (FAT) for severe facial deformity, popularly known as facial transplantation, has been one sided and sensationalistic. It is based on film and fiction rather than science and clinical experience. Based on our experience in developing the first IRB approved protocol for FAT, we critically discuss the problems with this discussion, which ...

bACKGROUND: Acquired facial deformity can result from trauma, burns, and tumor resection. Conventional techniques such as skin grafts, local flaps, free flaps, tissue expansion, and prosthetic reconstruction provide satisfactory outcomes in most patients in need of facial reconstruction. However, final outcomes remain unsatisfactory in a number of cases, both from a functional and an aesthetic ...

OBJECTIVES Update on clinical results obtained by the first worldwide facial transplantation teams as well as review of the literature concerning the main surgical, immunological, ethical, and follow-up aspects described on facial transplanted patients. STUDY DESIGN MEDLINE search of articles published on "face transplantation" until March 2012. RESULTS Eighteen clinical cases were studied....

Vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) is a novel therapeutic option for treatment of patients suffering from limb loss or severe facial disfigurement. To date, 72 hand and 19 facial transplantations have been performed worldwide. VCA in hand and facial transplantation is a complex procedure requiring a multidisciplinary team approach and extensive surgical planning. Despite good func...

T he anterior facial veins ensure the venous drainage of the face and have been used as main ve-nous pedicles for facial transplantations. The facial vein starts at the medial angle of the eye like the angular vein. Then, it runs obliquely behind the facial artery, crosses over the body of the mandible, and drains into the internal jugular vein through the thyrolinguofacial trunk. At the end of...

BACKGROUND Progress in composite tissue allotransplantation could provide a new treatment for patients with severe facial disfigurements. We did a partial facial allotransplantation in 2006, and report here the 2 year follow-up of the patient. METHODS The recipient, a 30-year-old man from China, had his face severely injured by a bear in October, 2004. Allograft composite tissue transplantati...

BACKGROUND Facial composite tissue allotransplantation is a potential reconstructive option for severe facial disfigurement. The purpose of the present investigation was to use decision analysis modelling to ascertain the expected quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained with face transplantation (versus remaining in a disfigured state) in an effort to assist surgeons with the decision of whe...