Face transplant
Transplants are the best possible treatment for most people with organ failure. Kidney transplants are the most commonly performed. Transplants of the heart, liver and lungs are also regularly carried out, but a face transplant is a still-experimental procedure.
The reason of heart transplantation is obvious, however the purpose of face transplant seems to be unclear. People with faces disfigured by burns, trauma, disease or birth defects might benefit from the procedure.
The alternative to a face transplant is to move the patient's own skin from their back, buttocks or thighs to their face in a series of as many as 50 operations to regain even limited function and a face that is often likened to a mask or a living quilt.
The world's first partial face transplant on a living human was carried out on November 27, 2005 by Professor Bernard Devauchelle a maxillofacial surgeon in Amiens. Isabelle Dinoire underwent surgery to replace her original face that had been ravaged by her dog. A triangle of face tissue from a brain-dead human's nose and mouth was grafted onto the patient. The landmark operation lasted 15 hours. The procedure consists of a series of operations requiring rotating teams of specialists. With issues of tissue type, age, sex, and skin color taken into consideration, the patient's face is removed and replaced (including the underlying fat, nerves and blood vessels, but no musculature). The surgery may last anywhere from 8 to 15 hours, followed by a 10–14 day hospital stay.
After the procedure a lifelong regimen of immunosuppressive drugs is necessary to suppress the patient's own immune systems and prevent rejection. Long-term immunosuppression increases the risk of developing life-threatening infections, kidney damage, and cancer. The surgery may result in complications such as infections that would turn the new face black and require a second transplant or reconstruction with skin grafts. Procedure changed the quality of patient's live. Before it Isabelle was scared to look at herself in mirror, now she is trying to rebuild her life.
Ethicists ask about side effects of face transplant. Psychological effects of the procedure may include remorse, disappointment, or grief or guilt toward the donor. Face determine part of human identity, what if recipient will look like donor? This situation is physical impossible. The transplant does not give the patient's face the appearance of the deceased donor's face because the underlying musculature and bones are different. Facial movements are due to the brain so the personality as expressed by the face remains that of the patient. Only the skin of the face is transferred from the donor, not the three dimensional shape nor the personality it expresses
The procedure has a great mental and physical impact. The best summary is the declaration of a patient “The operation revolutionized my life," "People no longer stop and stare at me in the street. They don't make fun of me any more."
face transplant przeszczep twarzy
carried out the operation przeprowadzić operację
rejection odzrzucenie
immunosuppressant drugs – leki immunosupresyjne
likelihood of cancer – prawdopodobieństwo raka
maxillofacial surgeon – chirurg szczękowotwarzowy
to opt for – zdecydować się
about-turn – zwrot o 180 O
recipient – biorca
NHS – publiczna służba zdrowia
spokesman - rzecznik
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