By MARILYNN MARCHIONE 2 hours ago
CLEVELAND (AP) Her injuries were ghastly: no nose, no palate, no way to eat or breathe normally, a face so hideous that children who saw her screamed and ran away. From the moment they met earlier this year, Dr. Maria Siemionow knew the severely disfigured woman would be the one the first person in the U.S. to receive a face transplant.
"Our patient was called names and was humiliated. You need a face to face the world," said Siemionow, the Cleveland Clinic reconstructive surgeon who led the operation about two weeks ago.
During the 22-hour procedure, 80 percent of the patient's face was replaced with bone, muscles, nerves, skin, blood vessels and some teeth taken from a woman who had died hours earlier.
Read more below.
The Associated Press: Woman gets near-total face transplant in Cleveland
It was the fourth face transplant in the world, though the others were not as extensive as this one.
This will be one Christmas season that the woman will not forget.
CLEVELAND (AP) Her injuries were ghastly: no nose, no palate, no way to eat or breathe normally, a face so hideous that children who saw her screamed and ran away. From the moment they met earlier this year, Dr. Maria Siemionow knew the severely disfigured woman would be the one the first person in the U.S. to receive a face transplant.
"Our patient was called names and was humiliated. You need a face to face the world," said Siemionow, the Cleveland Clinic reconstructive surgeon who led the operation about two weeks ago.
During the 22-hour procedure, 80 percent of the patient's face was replaced with bone, muscles, nerves, skin, blood vessels and some teeth taken from a woman who had died hours earlier.
Read more below.
The Associated Press: Woman gets near-total face transplant in Cleveland
It was the fourth face transplant in the world, though the others were not as extensive as this one.
This will be one Christmas season that the woman will not forget.
