First Full Face Transplant Conducted In a Spanish Hospital

In Madrid, Spain a first for the medical field has been accomplished. Doctors have completed the first full face transplant. The surgery took place at Barcelona’s Vall d’Hebron Hospital. In total, the surgery took approximately twenty four hours. This accomplishment is sure to change the medical transplant field as a whole. Doctors had done partial face transplants in the past but this surgery gives hope to other patients who need new faces because of injuries that they have suffered. Only eleven other face transplants have ever been attempted in the entire world.

The first full face transplant recipient was a thirty year old man who had shot himself in the face five years ago. The damage to his face had not allowed him to eat or breathe on his own. Even after nine prior surgeries, he was still using a ventilator to breathe. After the completion of his full face transplant, doctors expect that in a week the man will finally be able to eat and breathe on his own. This will drastically change this man’s life and it brings hope to other patients who have a similar medical situation. Hopefully doctors will be able to attempt more of these full face transplants to help patients get back some of what they have lost