What is a Face Transplant? A Complete Overview of the Procedure, Challenges and Success

Face transplant is one of the most complex and challenging procedures in modern medicine. It requires meticulous planning, expert surgical coordination, and long-term medical management.

A face transplant, also known as facial transplantation, is an advanced surgical procedure in which facial tissues from a deceased donor are transplanted onto a recipient whose face has been severely damaged due to accidents, burns, disease, or congenital deformities. It is not merely a cosmetic or plastic surgery procedure, but a highly delicate form of microsurgery.

How is the procedure performed?

A face transplant is a lengthy and technically demanding surgery that can take anywhere between 15 to 30 hours.

Donor Selection:

The first step involves identifying a suitable deceased donor. The donor’s blood group, tissue type, skin tone, and age must closely match those of the recipient. Two surgical teams typically work simultaneously. One team carefully removes the required facial tissues from the donor, including skin, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and sometimes portions of bone. The second team prepares the recipient by removing the damaged tissues and creating space for the transplant.

Microsurgery:

Using a microscope, surgeons meticulously connect the donor’s arteries and veins to the recipient’s blood vessels to restore blood circulation to the transplanted face. They then reconnect muscles and key nerves to enable future functions such as smiling, chewing, and facial expressions.

Who needs a face transplant?

Face transplantation is considered a last-resort option for patients whose facial damage cannot be corrected through conventional plastic surgery or skin grafting. Beyond restoring appearance, the procedure can help patients regain essential functions such as breathing, speaking, swallowing, and expressing emotions.

Major challenges and risks

Rejection:

The recipient’s immune system may recognize the new face as a foreign object and attempt to attack it. To prevent this, patients must take lifelong immunosuppressant medications.

Psychological impact:

Adapting to a new face can be emotionally and psychologically demanding. Patients must prepare themselves to accept a changed appearance and identity.

Risk of infection:

Since immunosuppressant drugs weaken the immune system, patients become more vulnerable to infections and other illnesses.

Face transplantation remains one of the most challenging yet transformative procedures in reconstructive surgery, offering not just a new face but renewed functionality and hope for individuals with severe facial disfigurement.