All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, has announced India’s first dedicated face transplant program, marking a major milestone in advanced reconstructive surgery. The initiative is being spearheaded by the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Burns Surgery, which has begun building a registry of patients with severe facial deformities and functional loss, such as impaired breathing, oral opening, or blinking, particularly those who have already undergone multiple unsuccessful reconstructions.
To lay the groundwork, the department recently conducted an intensive cadaveric training and academic program, including facial tissue harvesting from a brain-dead donor. The workshop brought together a broad multidisciplinary team spanning ENT, maxillofacial surgery, nephrology, immunology, pathology, psychiatry, critical care, anatomy, and organ retrieval services.…
