Patrick Hardison before (left) and after the face transplant (right).
A volunteer firefighter from Mississippi suffered extensive damage to his face during a rescue attempt some time ago.
18 November 2015 13:07
Brilio.net/en - In an event where science fiction is closing in to merging with reality, the medical team at New York University Langone Medical Center successfully transplanted a man's face onto another man's.
The recipient of the new face was volunteer firefighter Patrick Hardison. He received a full scalp and face which includes ears, nose, lips, and eyelids. Due to the success of the surgery, Hardison can now sleep with his eyes closed and even blink; something he was not able to do in his previous state.
As reported by Reuters, the whole surgery took 26 hours and was carried out by a 150-person medical team.
Hardison's new face itself once belonged to a certain David Rodebaugh, who passed away after a tragic cycling accident. It was known that Rodebaugh also donated his other organs aside from his face.
You only have one chance to land the Rover. The same goes with the face, Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez told Reuters following a news conference in New York earlier on Monday (16/11).Everything has to be perfectly positioned.
The description of the surgery harkens back to John Woo's 1997 filmFace/Off, where the two main characters were simultaneously operated on two separate surgery tables.
Rodebaugh's mother gave the procedure her blessing before it was carried out by the NYU team. After the surgery, she was shown pictures of Hardison after the transplant and told the medical team that "Patrick is beautiful."
Via Reuters and Gizmodo
