A face transplant is a rare, and rarer is a full face transplant. Recently a full face transplant was done for a 26 year old male patient in New York. A gunshot wound had damaged most of his lower face. The surgery went on for 25 hours to replace his jaws, cheek and lower eyelids. The surgeons used a 3-D-printed mask of the donor's features to preserve the donor’s facial identity.
Innovative technologies such as 3-D computer surgical planning and cutting guides, intraoperative navigation and intraoperative CAT scan were used for best results. The surgeons reported a reduction in the total length of stay, days spent in ICU and rehabilitation. The advent of new patient-donor matching protocol and immune suppression regimen has greatly improved the prognosis of full face transplants, which in the near future may cease to be a rarity. Source: Medicalnewstoday
