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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Although a face transplant is not technically a lifesaving procedure, recipients still need to take immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection, as this woman did.
Forty-eight hours after surgery, the patient started physical therapy involving facial exercises focusing on lip movement and closing her mouth. She also received psychological support.
By the end of the first week post-surgery, the woman was able to eat and drink almost normally, her doctors reported. There was some initial leakage from her mouth but this was resolved by the end of the year.
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The woman also regained sensitivity to light touch and to heat and cold.
Recovery of motor functions was slower, but, by the end of the 12th week following surgery, the woman could partially move her upper lip. She regained the ability to move her lower lip after the fourth month. And she was able to completely close her mouth 10 months after surgery, improving her ability to pronounce words and letters.
The woman's smile remained lopsided up to the 10th month after surgery but was normal at 18 months.
The patient did experience two rejection episodes, both of which were successfully reversed. There were also two infectious complications, both of them were also resolved.
According to the NEJM report, by the end of the fourth month after surgery, "the patient was capable of facing the outside world and gradually resumed a normal social life. . . At present, the patient says she is not afraid of walking in the street or meeting people at a party, and she is very satisfied with the aesthetic and functional results."
"My sense is that she's at a lot higher risk for having more trouble later on [for example, skin cancer]," said Dr. David Arnold, an assistant professor of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "Do you get immunosuppressed and [undergo several procedures] and potentially shorten your life for a cosmetic outcome. That's the glaring angle of all this. Technically, it's an amazing accomplishment."
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