Thread: face transplants

An ethics committee has given a british surgeon the go ahead for the first full face transplant

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...238550,00.html

Im definetely for this, but my only concern is the rejection side of it. if a face get rejected after a couple of years it could be pretty hard to get another doner

what do you guys and gals reckon on the subject?

I think that if the person is willing to take the risk, its a good idea.

10) counter arguments to face transplants.


1) It depends what you mean by rejection, would your eyelids close beyond your control every time you pass a mirror, or would that be denial rather than rejection. And what psychological effect would that have on the mind?

2) Isn't there an old English expresson, if the face fit's wear it?

3) Girls will take even longer getting ready for that date.

4) Similar to (1) you'd never be able to look your old self in the mirror again!

5) Remember a face is for life not just Christmas!

6) Identity parades would be more effective, just pick out the guy with all the stiches and dried blood.

7) You just never know where the last guy who had the face had put it,
or what he did with it behind his boss's back

8.) Some how the donor clinic looks permanently deserted.

9) Surprising an old flame could lead to a long prison sentence.

10) How you gonna convince the guard dog?

Originally Posted by Megabrain

10) counter arguments to face transplants.


1) It depends what you mean by rejection, would your eyelids close beyond your control every time you pass a mirror, or would that be denial rather than rejection. And what psychological effect would that have on the mind?

2) Isn't there an old English expresson, if the face fit's wear it?

3) Girls will take even longer getting ready for that date.

4) Similar to (1) you'd never be able to look your old self in the mirror again!

5) Remember a face is for life not just Christmas!

6) Identity parades would be more effective, just pick out the guy with all the stiches and dried blood.

7) You just never know where the last guy who had the face had put it,
or what he did with it behind his boss's back

8.) Some how the donor clinic looks permanently deserted.

9) Surprising an old flame could lead to a long prison sentence.

10) How you gonna convince the guard dog?

Have you seen the morph pics that show that the new face is part way between the doner and reciever, which makes sense as faces are part bone structure and part soft tissue depth

i still dont know though. Im fine on the morality side,its just if that tissue get rejected like some internal organs do, theres not going to be a massive amount of matching blood/tissue types relatives that are going to allow full face transplantation of their beloved. well not until society's opinions change

Originally Posted by captaincaveman

An ethics committee has given a british surgeon the go ahead for the first full face transplant

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/...238550,00.html

Im definetely for this, but my only concern is the rejection side of it. if a face get rejected after a couple of years it could be pretty hard to get another doner

what do you guys and gals reckon on the subject?

If the face is rejected, the people will be in deep trouble, but it's the case with most transplants ...

For the french case : partial face transplant, I think after have checking the whole TV report, that it's a good thing. Without a face (she was faceless) her life was nighthmarish : no future. With a face and with the help of the medical staff behind her, she is happy : her life has a new meaning.

That's said, other experiments, will certainly fail in some case to failure. But it's good that it exist.

I can see that for some, accident victims, severe deformality, the face transplant offers great hope of a more normal acceptance in society, I thought that surgery was now at such a stage that almost any deformaty could be 'reworked' by fracturing, re-positioning, and re-growing bones.
It's not a subject I know much about, hence my humour above, I guess my dig was that those who sought to use it in the same vain as 'beauty treatment' might be a reasonable target for such humour.

there was a documentary on the french woman with partial face transplant, they interviewed the welsh guy from the fawklands, think its simon(the guy on the boat that the argies hit)his face is/was really bad but he was saying he'd rather have his burnt face than a new one cause of the rejection issue and the fact you have to take anti-rejection tablets for the rest of your life with side effects and a high chance of cancer


it'll be better when they can grow new facial features in the lab for actual use

Originally Posted by Megabrain

I can see that for some, accident victims, severe deformality, the face transplant offers great hope of a more normal acceptance in society, I thought that surgery was now at such a stage that almost any deformaty could be 'reworked' by fracturing, re-positioning, and re-growing bones.
It's not a subject I know much about, hence my humour above, I guess my dig was that those who sought to use it in the same vain as 'beauty treatment' might be a reasonable target for such humour.

d

In this case (the woman) the classical surgery was complicated (6 or 7 stages) and the result totally disapointing.
BTW face transplants will never be a common practice, and will only be suited for the extreme cases for people willing to accept all the cons : tablets ...
I have nothing against humour

PS : this is my field : I am a plastic surgeon

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

Originally Posted by Megabrain

I can see that for some, accident victims, severe deformality, the face transplant offers great hope of a more normal acceptance in society, I thought that surgery was now at such a stage that almost any deformaty could be 'reworked' by fracturing, re-positioning, and re-growing bones.
It's not a subject I know much about, hence my humour above, I guess my dig was that those who sought to use it in the same vain as 'beauty treatment' might be a reasonable target for such humour.

d

In this case (the woman) the classical surgery was complicated (6 or 7 stages) and the result totally disapointing.
BTW face transplants will never be a common practice, and will only be suited for the extreme cases for people willing to accept all the cons : tablets ...
I have nothing against humour

PS : this is my field : I am a plastic surgeon

i'm pretty sure theres a high risk of cancer from long term use of anti-rejection drugs. have you heard anything on this?

Originally Posted by captaincaveman

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

Originally Posted by Megabrain

I can see that for some, accident victims, severe deformality, the face transplant offers great hope of a more normal acceptance in society, I thought that surgery was now at such a stage that almost any deformaty could be 'reworked' by fracturing, re-positioning, and re-growing bones.
It's not a subject I know much about, hence my humour above, I guess my dig was that those who sought to use it in the same vain as 'beauty treatment' might be a reasonable target for such humour.

d

In this case (the woman) the classical surgery was complicated (6 or 7 stages) and the result totally disapointing.
BTW face transplants will never be a common practice, and will only be suited for the extreme cases for people willing to accept all the cons : tablets ...
I have nothing against humour

PS : this is my field : I am a plastic surgeon

i'm pretty sure theres a high risk of cancer from long term use of anti-rejection drugs. have you heard anything on this?

I must check, but you are probabily right. The immune system has a huge role in the "struggle" against cancer, and weakening it, is not very good.
There where record of people having diying of melanoma after a kidney graft. The donor of the kidney had a melomena 15 years ago, and was considered before his brain death as cured and safe. He transmitted via the kidney the melanomena.
That's said melanomena are very related to immunity

People can do whatever they want. As for me, no one is ever giving me a face transplant; that's just messed up... well... maybe if it's a solid titanium face, that would be pretty cool. Somehow I don't think they can do that though.

i have no problem with the idea behind it, but if i could survive without meds and had a badly scarred face. i'd take the scars and face the world

Originally Posted by captaincaveman

i have no problem with the idea behind it, but if i could survive without meds and had a badly scarred face. i'd take the scars and face the world

Curiously enough in Egypt and some other mid-eastern countries rejection is not a problem, as long as the new piece of cloth you are using has been washed it should be OK. 8)

Originally Posted by Megabrain

Originally Posted by captaincaveman

i have no problem with the idea behind it, but if i could survive without meds and had a badly scarred face. i'd take the scars and face the world

Curiously enough in Egypt and some other mid-eastern countries rejection is not a problem, as long as the new piece of cloth you are using has been washed it should be OK. 8)

WTH???? Cloth?? :?

Originally Posted by DaBOB

People can do whatever they want. As for me, no one is ever giving me a face transplant; that's just messed up... well... maybe if it's a solid titanium face, that would be pretty cool. Somehow I don't think they can do that though.

Try to speak or to east with your titanium face :P
Seriously it's only an esthetic problem.
The face allow you to speak, to eat, and to express sentiments. When you have an empty hole in your face : no nose, no lips, no chin, it's not only a question of scars

Originally Posted by captaincaveman

i have no problem with the idea behind it, but if i could survive without meds and had a badly scarred face. i'd take the scars and face the world

It's not just a question of scars, it's a question to be faceless : no nose (you can live with this), but no lips : just teeths.
Try to eat without lips, try to speak without lips, try to drink without lips ...and try to express your feelings around you without lips

The face transplant is much more than esthetic surgery

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

Originally Posted by captaincaveman

i have no problem with the idea behind it, but if i could survive without meds and had a badly scarred face. i'd take the scars and face the world

It's not just a question of scars, it's a question to be faceless : no nose (you can live with this), but no lips : just teeths.
Try to eat without lips, try to speak without lips, try to drink without lips ...and try to express your feelings around you without lips

The face transplant is much more than esthetic surgery

yeah, i meant in the case of the brit in the falklands war with facial burns, i meant purely for asthetics i wouldn't do it. but for the reasons youve said that would be different :-D

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

The face transplant is much more than esthetic surgery

I agree I dont think that you will find people seeking this surgery for esthetic reasons. Its a major surgery with very high risks. I think that it is unlikely that anyone who didn't truely NEED the surgery would want one.

Originally Posted by Andrew02

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

The face transplant is much more than esthetic surgery

I agree I dont think that you will find people seeking this surgery for esthetic reasons. Its a major surgery with very high risks. I think that it is unlikely that anyone who didn't truely NEED the surgery would want one.

NEED? or medically require?

Let's face it (was that a pun?) Bin laden might go for a face transplant.

Originally Posted by Megabrain

Originally Posted by Andrew02

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

The face transplant is much more than esthetic surgery

I agree I dont think that you will find people seeking this surgery for esthetic reasons. Its a major surgery with very high risks. I think that it is unlikely that anyone who didn't truely NEED the surgery would want one.

NEED? or medically require?

Let's face it (was that a pun?) Bin laden might go for a face transplant.

good play on word
Speaking of Bin Laden, I would personally vote for a brain transplant

Yeah, I'd recommend a smaller one, about 100gms of lead should do it :wink:

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

Originally Posted by Megabrain

Originally Posted by Andrew02

Originally Posted by Powerdoc

The face transplant is much more than esthetic surgery

I agree I dont think that you will find people seeking this surgery for esthetic reasons. Its a major surgery with very high risks. I think that it is unlikely that anyone who didn't truely NEED the surgery would want one.

NEED? or medically require?

Let's face it (was that a pun?) Bin laden might go for a face transplant.

good play on word
Speaking of Bin Laden, I would personally vote for a brain transplant

speaking of speaking of bin laden, theres a new book out like "wheres wally", called "wheres bin laden", same format. looks funny

I think Bin's Dead. I think the Yanks killed him but kept it quiet so they could carry on the war and not have a martyr. Or maybe he's still alive.
Or maybe he's half dead. This phuggin whiskey's nice!