BOSTON -- A Texas construction worker badly disfigured in a power line accident two years ago has received the nation's first full face transplant at a Boston hospital.
More than 30 doctors, nurses and other staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital led by plastic surgeon Dr. Bohdan Pomahac performed the 15-hour operation last week on 25-year-old Dallas Wiens of Fort Worth, Texas. He was listed in good condition at the hospital today.
The electrical accident in November 2008 left Wiens blind and without lips, a nose or eyebrows. In Boston, doctors transplanted an entire new face, including a nose, lips, skin and muscles and nerves that animate the skin and give sensation. The donor's identity was not disclosed nor would the hospital say exactly when the surgery was done for privacy reasons.
Wiens will not resemble either what he used to be or the donor, but something in between, said Pomahac. The tissues are really molded on a new person.
The transplant was not able to restore Wiens' sight, and some nerves were so badly damaged from his injury that he likely will have only partial sensation on his left cheek and left forehead, the surgeon said.
Wiens has been able to talk to his family on the phone, said his grandfather, Del Peterson, who attended the news conference in Boston.
When I first saw him after the injury, I had no idea what was to follow, Peterson said. But he is determined to get well, and to move on with his life, to do something with his life.
He said Wiens hopes to become an advocate for facial donations, and thanked the donor family, saying, You will forever remain in our hearts and our prayers and we are grateful for your selflessness.
The surgery was paid for by the Defense Department; the hospital has a $3.4 million grant from the military for transplant research.
The new federal health care law helped make the operation possible, by allowing Wiens to get insurance coverage for the expensive drugs he will need lifelong to prevent rejection of his new face.
Full story with pictures: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/21/boston-hospital-performs-nations-full-face-transplant/
More than 30 doctors, nurses and other staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital led by plastic surgeon Dr. Bohdan Pomahac performed the 15-hour operation last week on 25-year-old Dallas Wiens of Fort Worth, Texas. He was listed in good condition at the hospital today.
The electrical accident in November 2008 left Wiens blind and without lips, a nose or eyebrows. In Boston, doctors transplanted an entire new face, including a nose, lips, skin and muscles and nerves that animate the skin and give sensation. The donor's identity was not disclosed nor would the hospital say exactly when the surgery was done for privacy reasons.
Wiens will not resemble either what he used to be or the donor, but something in between, said Pomahac. The tissues are really molded on a new person.
The transplant was not able to restore Wiens' sight, and some nerves were so badly damaged from his injury that he likely will have only partial sensation on his left cheek and left forehead, the surgeon said.
Wiens has been able to talk to his family on the phone, said his grandfather, Del Peterson, who attended the news conference in Boston.
When I first saw him after the injury, I had no idea what was to follow, Peterson said. But he is determined to get well, and to move on with his life, to do something with his life.
He said Wiens hopes to become an advocate for facial donations, and thanked the donor family, saying, You will forever remain in our hearts and our prayers and we are grateful for your selflessness.
The surgery was paid for by the Defense Department; the hospital has a $3.4 million grant from the military for transplant research.
The new federal health care law helped make the operation possible, by allowing Wiens to get insurance coverage for the expensive drugs he will need lifelong to prevent rejection of his new face.
Full story with pictures: http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/21/boston-hospital-performs-nations-full-face-transplant/
