Thursday, February 09, 2006

A New Face, A New Lease on Life... Hopefully

The tragic story of Isabelle Dinoire revealed a new level of medical intellect in France where she received the world’s first partial face transplant. Dinoire, who had her chin, mouth and nose chewed off by a dog while in an unconscious state, is now able to eat and show facial emotions, which she was unable to do prior to her transplant. Her accident left her incapable of opening her mouth more than a few millimeters; even after physical therapy she was unable to open it more than three-quarters of an inch. The transplant in Dinoire’s own words has given her a “second life”. The doctor handling her case, Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard, believes there is a possible risk of Dinoire’s body rejecting the transplant, however additional medication is helping her. Dr. Dubernard has requested the allowance of five more operations similar to this one by the French health authorities.

Read more

No comments: