polishcanuck 7 | 461
21 Dec 2008 / #1
CLEVELAND - Only the forehead, upper eyelids, lower lip, lower teeth and jaw are hers.
In a 23-hour operation, transplant surgeons have given nearly an entire new face to a woman with facial damage so severe that she could not eat on her own or breathe without a hole in her windpipe, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic said here on Wednesday.
The highly experimental procedure, performed within the last two weeks, was the world's fourth partial face transplant, the country's first, and the most extensive and complicated such operation to date. Dr. Maria Siemionow led the surgical team, which took turns at the operating table so the doctors could rest, sleep and share expertise.
In a 23-hour operation, transplant surgeons have given nearly an entire new face to a woman with facial damage so severe that she could not eat on her own or breathe without a hole in her windpipe, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic said here on Wednesday.
The highly experimental procedure, performed within the last two weeks, was the world's fourth partial face transplant, the country's first, and the most extensive and complicated such operation to date. Dr. Maria Siemionow led the surgical team, which took turns at the operating table so the doctors could rest, sleep and share expertise.
Source: nytimes.
Dr. Siemionow's bio: my.clevelandclinic.org/staff_directory/2/Staff_1735.aspx
Press Conference: youtube.com/watch?v=YZxnxizBRUY