[procedure]: Face Transplants

So, here it is. Let the jokes and references to Face Off begin!
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Face Transplants Possible But More Research Needed
Wed 19 November, 2003 17:59

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Face transplants are technically possible and could arguably be less difficult than reattaching a severed finger, surgeons said on Wednesday, but they called for more research into the risks involved before they are attempted.

The microsurgical skills needed for a face transplant are already well established, according to a report by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

But too little is known about the psychological impact it would have on the recipient or the donor family, the ethical issues or the long-term risks of immunosuppressive drugs that would have to be taken for life to prevent the immune system from rejecting the new face.

"We do not feel that the time is appropriate at the moment," Professor Sir Peter Morris, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, told a news conference.

In the detailed report on the feasibility of face transplants, Morris and a panel of experts said the surgery would be a major breakthrough for people who have been disfigured by an accident or disease, but ethical hurdles and uncertainties about the risk and benefits must be resolved.

"It is one of the most exciting possibilities for plastic and reconstructive surgery," said Michael Earley, a plastic surgeon at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin.

"But there is a lot of work to be done yet," he added.

Earley said the blood vessels in the face are larger than in the finger so the microsurgery and stitching techniques may be less complicated than in other types of surgery.

"It is more difficult to actually put a finger back on than it is to transplant a face," he explained.

But Morris stressed the importance of the psychological and ethical implications and said lifetime use of immunosuppressive drugs increases the risk of certain types of cancer and other illnesses.

Dr John Barker, a plastic surgeon at Louisville University in Kentucky, said his team is ready to perform the world's first face transplant.

"We need to get across the complexities of this medical advance and dismiss the myths that have been reported -- for example the first face transplant recipients will not necessarily look like the donor," he said.

 

Come on, folks! This is, at the very least, a photoshop goldmine opportunity!

What face would Jacko select? How about Van Gundy?

If you haven't seen John Woo's movie, "Face Off," I strongly recommend it by the way.

 

Now Helena and Johnny Depp could trade faces! ...
Oh, wait a minute.