Near-Total Face Transplant Performed by Surgeons at Cleveland Clinic

Surgeons at Cleveland Clinic have performed the nation’s first ever near-total face transplant.

Specifics and patient details have been withheld for privacy reasons, but an online press release states that the patient was a woman who had suffered from severe facial trauma. During the 22 hour procedure, many functional components of the patient’s face were replaced or restored.  Surgeons were skilled in the latest microsurgery and transplantation techniques, integrating facial structures like the lower eyelids and nose, while also replacing complex tissues like arteries, nerves and skin.

Doctor Maria Siemionow, director of Plastic surgery research and team leader for the operation has spent a major part of her career researching and developing the procedure. She was able to direct professionals from many disciplines, including surgery, anesthesia, opthamology, dentistry and bioethics.  A multifaceted approach of this magnitude is probably the only way to succeed in such a complex surgical procedure.

Regarding facial surgery, Siemionow says, “No other aspect of our anatomy is capable of even a fraction of the complexity of motion and emotion allowed by the muscles and tissues of the face.”   She describes her motivation in a recent Wall Street Journal article saying, “patients with facial disfigurement have very difficult challenges in society. We hope that one day we may be able to help the tens of thousands of patients who are quietly suffering.”