Lyon, France – Doctors in France said they had performed the world’s first partial face transplant, forging the way into a risky medical frontier by operating on a woman disfigured by a dog.
The 38-year-old woman, who wants to remain anonymous, had a nose, lips and a chin grafted onto her face from a brain-dead donor whose family gave consent. The operation, performed Sunday, was led by surgeon Jean-Michel Dubernard.
“The patient’s general condition is excellent, and the transplant looks normal,” said a statement issued Wednesday from a hospital in the northern city of Amiens, where the operation took place. Dubernard would not discuss the surgery but confirmed that it involved the nose, lips and chin.
A news conference is planned for Friday.
Scientists in China have performed scalp and ear transplants, but experts say the mouth and nose are the most difficult parts of the face to transplant.
In 2000, Dubernard did the world’s first double forearm transplant.
