Face Transplant Man Goes Public
From: http://www.thesun.co.uk/
A SPANIARD who had one of the world's first face transplants has appeared in public today to thank the donor and surgeons who operated on him.
The patient named only as Rafael said: "I am full of joy and happiness. I want to thank the family of the donor and the medical team."
Rafael, 34, was the third person in Spain and the tenth in the world to receive a partial face transplant.
The operation was carried out after Rafael was left with a series of tumours on his face from a rare condition that caused cells to grow abnormally.
He appeared before the media at the Virgen del Rocio Hospital in Seville, southern Spain, where he underwent a 30-hour operation on January 26 and 27.
He has since been released from hospital and says he can feel pain, heat and cold in his face — and has even started shaving.
Rafael still has difficulty in talking clearly as he is not expected to regain complete control over his tongue for another three months. His face is also still inflamed.
He told reporters he is a fan of Seville football team Real Betis and is looking forward to going back to their stadium to watch a match.
Rafael appeared at the press conference alongside his mother Juana and sister Belen, who held his hand throughout.
He asked for his privacy to be respected, saying: "Please, after this press conference I want you to leave me, my family and my friends in peace."
The doctors said the transplant involved the patient receiving donor tissue for the lower two-thirds of his face.
Brave
The first part of the transplant involved removing the facial tissue, blood vessels and nerve endings from the donor. The second part involved attaching them to the patient.
Rafael spent five weeks in intensive care and a week in the burns unit before being moved to a regular hospital bed on March 15.
Surgeon Tomas Gomez Cia, who lead the transplant team, described the patient as "an incredibly brave person".
He said: "It is difficult enough for us to appear before all these cameras, so you can imagine how Rafael feels."
The team of plastic surgeons spent a year practising for the operation on bodies and 3D computer simulators.
Juan David Gonzalez Padilla, director of maxillofacial surgery at the hospital, said: "He has recovered his sensitivity in the lips, the cheeks, he can distinguish cold and heat, and he's even shaving, something which he wasn't able to do before because of his illness."
He added that Rafael "is already swallowing normally" and within three months he will have normal mobility in his face.
Dr Gonzalez Padilla said the patient "recognised himself" when he first saw himself in a mirror after the surgery, and added: "He didn't see himself as a monster, in fact he thought he looked younger."
Rafael had suffered from the congenital disease neurofibromatosis type 1, formerly known as von Recklinghausen disease, a genetic problem which causes cells to grow abnormally, since birth.
He had benign tumours on two thirds of his face as a result.
Dr Gomez Cia said for Rafael "there was no reconstructive alternative except for a tissue transplant from a dead donor".
Since Rafael's operation, surgeons in Barcelona have carried out the world's first full face transplant.
A farmer whose face was deformed in a shooting accident five years ago underwent the operation at the city's Vall d'Hebron Hospital.
A team of 30 took 24 hours to complete the operation in late March. The patient has not been identified.
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