Face transplant

Overview:

A face transplant is a kind of surgery that involves replacing the portions of a person’s face with the tissues and parts of a person who has passed away and has donated their facial tissues. This type of surgery is termed as a vascularized composite allograft (VCA), which includes components of the face such as bone, nerves, and blood vessels. People with severe face disfigurement qualify for face transplant surgery as there are fewer amounts of donors who are willing to donate facial tissues that are available. 

The face transplant procedure is a complex and challenging process that involves intricate work on the nose, lower eyelids, skin, muscles, arteries, veins, and nerves of the person. After the procedure is done, the person requires detailed and vigilant medical care that consists of physical therapy and medicines. The procedure requires extensive planning and a highly skilled and specialized medical team of doctors and other health professionals. After all the care taken the team cannot predict how the person will look after the procedure and how the body’s immune system will react to the new tissues.

Who Needs A Face Transplant:

• A person with a severely disfigured face that plastic or reconstructive surgery cannot fix. This includes a missing nose, eyelids, and lips.
• The person should be between the age of 18 and 60 years.
• The person should not be pregnant, or they must agree to avoid pregnancy for a year.
• They should not have any infections like HIV or hepatitis.
• They should be non-smokers.
• The person should not have a history of cancer, diabetes, or any health condition that affects the heart and blood vessels.
• Their body should be able to tolerate immunosuppressants (medicines that decrease immunity).
• They can undergo procedures like X-rays, CT and MRI scans, blood tests, and other physical health tests.
• The person should be willing to agree to a lifetime of follow-up and care.

The Procedure:

Before the surgery

• Once a person qualifies for a face transplant they are put on a waiting list. When a donor is available a few considerations are made. They include the matching of the blood type, skin color, tissue type, approximate ages of the donor and the recipient, and a comparison of their facial anatomy.
• The person is required to visit the hospital regularly for blood tests and other assessments if they are fit and ready for a transplant surgery which is an extensive procedure.
• The person should stay in the vicinity of the hospital so that they can travel when the facial tissues are available for transplantation.
• The doctor should be informed about any change in medication or health condition of the person.

During the surgery

• The duration of the surgery and the entire procedure depends on the extent of facial damage and the transplant requirements.
• The procedure takes around 10 to 30 hours, and the team consists of highly experienced surgeons, anesthesiologists, ophthalmologists, nurses, radiologists, and other healthcare professionals. 
• Anesthesia is administered and once the person is asleep the face or scalp is shaved. The face is marked with an alcohol-based pen to help the surgeons with the incisions to identify the blood vessels that they will use to connect to the donor’s face.
• The damaged skin and tissues are removed and the arteries and veins are connected with the donor’s tissues through surgical needles and thread. Connecting the blood vessels keeps the donor’s tissues alive.
• Once the surgeons are able to confirm that the tissues are receiving blood supply they connect the nerves and muscles. The nerves provide sensation to the face and the muscles allow actions like smiling, chewing, blinking, and moving of eyelids and eyebrows. The surgeons also connect the bones and cartilage with screws and plates.
• As a final step the surgeons stitch the tissues and skin together.

After the surgery

• The person is required to stay in the hospital for around one to two months.
• The feeding happens through a tube and they are given immunosuppressants so that the body doesn’t reject the foreign facial tissues. Medicines are given for pain management.
• Once a person is able to tolerate they are given physical and speech therapy.
• Post-surgical care is given by a team of multiple healthcare professionals that include transplant coordinators, social workers, therapists, and nutritionists.
• The person is required to follow up diligently for the rest of their lives and meet the doctor and the transplant team for blood tests and checkups.
• Most face transplant recipients experience enhanced smelling, eating, drinking, talking, and smiling abilities and are able to feel sensations on their faces.

Benefits Of A Face Transplant:

The overall life of a person who receives a face transplant is improved. The procedure aids in the following abilities:

• Breathing.
• Chewing and swallowing of food.
• Smelling.
• Talking.
• Tasting.

The Risks Of A Face Transplant:

The common risks that the face transplant surgery has are complications related to anesthesia, bleeding, blood clots, difficulty in breathing, infection, and even death in rare cases.

The specific complications include:

• Rejection of transplant: The person’s immune system may view the foreign facial tissues as bacteria, viruses, and other germs and reject them to protect the body. The transplant may send the immune system into attack mode which may cause death of the person. Hence the person is required to take immunosuppressants for the rest of their lives.
• Infection: Immunosuppressive drugs curb the immune system’s ability to attack and fight germs and foreign bodies entering the body and ward off infections. Hence the person becomes more susceptible to fungal, blood, skin, and respiratory infections.

Conclusion:

A face transplant is a significant procedure that helps a person with severe face disfigurement get a second chance at life. It improves the person’s ability to see, feel, and express again. Though the procedure is very extensive and takes a lifelong commitment from a person, it still lets a person live a normal life. It is crucial for the person to take the follow-up procedure very seriously to avoid complications and carefully adhere to all the instructions provided by the specialized team that has worked hard to make the person smile again. It is essential to have a very detailed discussion with the team before the procedure to understand the risks and benefits in-depth to avoid any misunderstandings later. The patient or their family must not shy away from asking the doctor and their team any question at any stage.

Popular Searches :

Hospitals: Cancer Hospital in Delhi | Best Heart Hospital in Delhi |  Hospital in Amritsar | Hospital in Ludhiana | Hospitals in Mohali | Hospital in Faridabad | Hospitals in Gurgaon | Best Hospital in Jaipur | Hospitals in Greater Noida | Hospitals in Noida | Best Kidney Hospital in Kolkata | Best Hospital in Kolkata | Hospitals in Rajajinagar Bangalore | Hospitals in Richmond Road Bangalore | Hospitals in Nagarbhavi Bangalore | Hospital in Kalyan West | Hospitals in Mulund | Best Hospital in India | | Cardiology Hospital in India | Best Cancer Hospital in India | Best Cardiology Hospital in India | Best Oncology Hospital In India | Best Cancer Hospital in Delhi | Best Liver Transplant Hospital in India

Doctors: Dr. Rana Patir | Dr. Rajesh Benny | Dr. Rahul Bhargava | Dr. Jayant Arora | Dr. Anoop Misra | Dr. Manu Tiwari | Dr. Praveer Agarwal | Dr. Arup Ratan Dutta | Dr. Meenakshi Ahuja | Dr. Anoop Jhurani | Dr. Shivaji Basu | Dr. Subhash Jangid | Dr. Atul Mathur | Dr. Gurinder Bedi | Dr. Monika Wadhawan | Dr. Debasis Datta | Dr. Shrinivas Narayan | Dr. Praveen Gupta | Dr. Nitin Jha | Dr. Raghu Nagaraj | Dr. Ashok Seth | Dr. Sandeep Vaishya | Dr. Atul Mishra | Dr. Z S Meharwal | Dr. Ajay Bhalla | Dr. Atul Kumar Mittal | Dr. Arvind Kumar Khurana | Dr. Narayan Hulse | Dr. Samir Parikh | Dr. Amit Javed | Dr. Narayan Banerjee | Dr. Bimlesh Dhar Pandey | Dr. Arghya Chattopadhyay | Dr. G.R. Vijay Kumar | Dr Ashok Gupta | Dr. Gourdas Choudhuri | Dr. Sushrut Singh | Dr. N.C. Krishnamani | Dr. Atampreet Singh | Dr. Vivek Jawali | Dr. Sanjeev Gulati | Dr. Amite Pankaj Aggarwal | Dr. Ajay Kaul | Dr. Sunita Varma | Dr. Manoj Kumar Goel | Dr. R Muralidharan | Dr. Sushmita Roychowdhury | Dr. T.S. MAHANT | Dr. UDIPTA RAY | Dr. Aparna Jaswal | Dr. Ravul Jindal | Dr. Savyasachi Saxena | Dr. Ajay Kumar Kriplani | Dr. Nitesh Rohatgi | Dr. Anupam Jindal 

Specialties: Heart Lung Transplant | Orthopedic | Cardiology Interventional | Obstetrics & Gynaecology | Onco Radiation | Neurosurgery |  Interventional Cardiology | Gastroenterologist in Jaipur | Neuro Physician | Gynecologist in Kolkata | Best Neurologist in India | Liver Transfer