"Doctors at Seville's Virgen del Rocío hospital have successfully completed Spain's second face transplant, and the ninth operation of its kind to be performed in the world.
25 different specialists took part in the operation that lasted almost 30 hours.
Head of Andalucia's health department, María Jesús Montero told the press yesterday that she was 'proud' that the Andalucian public health system had been able to carry out the transplant of 'facial structures' and also announced legal measures to protect the identity of the recpient.
She said that details about this 'complex' intervention would not be released immediately and added that the next 72 hours would be crucial in terms of whether the patient's body rejected the transplanted organ.
The president of the Junta de Andalucía (regional government) José Antonio Griñan, congratulated the team at the hospital, saying that their operation was 'an example' of how new technology could be used to solve health problems that 'previously had no solution'.
Face transplant recipients are usually people with very marked facial deformities, normally accompanied by difficulties in smelling or tasting as well as the associated psychological problems.
The donor has to be the same sex, roughly the same age, have the same blood group, a similar-sized face and similar skin colouring. The surgery is very complex as it involves transplanting and connecting different types of tissue: muscle, skin, nerves and blood vessels.
The first transplant of this kind was carried out in France in 2005, with the recipient being Isabelle Dinoire, a woman whose face was left deformed after an attack by her dog.
Spain's first face transplant was carried out by pioneering surgeon Pedro Cavadas at Valencia's La Fe hospital in August last year and was the first to include the jaw and the tongue."
Source :
http://www.thinkspain.com
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