Anatomy of a Face Transplant

In the case of Dinoire’s partial face transplant, there was some initial rejection following the operation, but in the end her body accepted the new tissue.  There is debate as to whether a patient could be left worse off if a transplant were to fail.

A new identity?

The face is clearly a central point for communication: it is how people recognise each other and is the focus of sexual attraction. Altered identity is therefore a primary concern when face transplants are considered.  Someone suffering from a facial injury has already undergone a change in their appearance but a repeated alteration from a face transplant could be just as disturbing, both for the donor and their families.

Will the recipient of a face transplant resemble their former self or look more like their donor? Butler and his team of researchers at the University of Louisville in the U.S. have employed various techniques in an attempt to answer this question. They have suggested that a ‘third face’ with an identity of its own will be produced: the superficial facial characteristics of the donor are superimposed onto the recipient’s existing bone structure.

But sometimes, people who have had an injury that has led to facial disfigurement do not want to change their appearance again. Mark Crank, who is facially disfigured, told the BBC that he would never consider a face transplant. “It’s not about changing my face,” he said, “It’s about changing people’s attitude to my face.”

However, many doctors believe that face transplants have the potential to benefit many people -  there are 10,000 burn victims in the UK alone. The ethical, medical and psychological implications are still being considered but the positive results from the first partial face transplant in France have been promising. With increasing research and various groups now involved in developing the technique, doctors should soon be able to make a well-rounded assessment of its impact.