A few successful face transplant operations in the recent past have saved lives of some people who became victims of animals’ attack, gunshot or accidents.
Though a face transplant gives a new face to a patient with disfigured face due to accident or some rare diseases, the surgery is still in its experimental phase.
Press “Start” to view pictures of people before and after their successful face transplants.
Face transplants such as the one performed on Charla Nash, as seen before her injury, and before and after her surgery (l. to r.), usually require months of preparation, but Gregorz' risk of infection led to surgeons performing the surgery just three weeks after the accident.
REUTERS/Ho NewIsabelle Dinoire who received the world's first partial face transplant addresses a news conference at Amiens hospital in northern France February 6, 2006. In a 15-hour operation surgeons used tissues, muscles, arteries and veins from a brain-dead woman to rebuild Dinoire's face. Dinoire was mauled by a dog. REUTERS/Pascal RossignolA combination photograph shows a man before and after his operation when he received a face transplant, in Xian, Shaanzi province. The man, surnamed Li, suffered severe injuries from a bear attack in 2004. Li underwent the operation at a Xi'an hospital with help from a voluntary organization. The operation, which was successful, started on April 13 and lasted 13 hours. It was the first successful face transplant operation in China.REUTERS/China DailyFace transplant patient Connie Culp is seen in this combination photo made of handouts released by Cleveland Clinic on May 6, 2009. Culp, who survived a gun shot to her face, is seen before the attack (L), before the 22-hour procedure performed in December 2008 (C) and in a recent photo (R) after 80 percent of her face was transplanted. This was the first near-total face transplant in the United States. REUTERS/Ho NewFace transplant patient Dallas Wiens is seen before (L) his transplant and after (R) in this combination handout image dated on May 9, 2011. More than 30 physicians, nurses, anesthesiologists and residents worked for more than 15 hours to replace the nose, lips, facial skin, muscles of facial animation and nerves of Wiens, disfigured in an electrical accident in 2008.REUTERS/Ho NewCombination photo released by Cleveland Clinic on May 6, 2009, shows images of face transplant patient Connie Culp who survived a gun shot to her face before the 22-hour procedure performed in December 2008 (L) and recent photo after 80 percent of her face transplanted. REUTERS/Ho NewFace transplant recipient Rafael embraces a nurse during a news conference at Virgen del Rocio hospital in Seville May 4, 2010. Rafael, who received the lower face transplant at the hospital in January 2010, suffered from neurofibromatosis, a genetically-inherited disorder which caused facial tumours. Rafael's operation is the second time the procedure has been performed in Spain. REUTERS/Javier BarbanchoOscar, the world's first full-face transplant patient, poses for the photographers as he attends a news conference at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona July 26, 2010. Oscar, who underwent the transplant in April by a 30-member medical team led by Spanish doctor Juan Barret, accidentally shot himself in the face in 2005. REUTERS
