The Pros And Cons Of Face Transplants

Face Transplants; Ethics and Technology

Over the past century there has been a considerable improvement in medicinal technology that allows for many life-saving and cosmetic procedures to be undertaken. Face transplants are one such improvement that permit recipients to have a second chance at a relatively normal life. This form of transplantation is used as treatment for victims with severe injuries of the face such as extreme burns that have robbed them of many normal facial features including noses and eyes. In the year 2005, the first partial face transplant took place in France at the Amiens University Hospital, where the patient received new cheeks, lips and part of a chin from a brain dead donor. Since then there have been several successful full face transplants all over the world, especially in Spain and the United States. The qualifications a patient must meet to undergo such a serious surgery are extensive and take into account what kind of deformities the patient has and their state of mind. A potential recipient is evaluated rigorously by psychiatrists to establish if they are mentally capable to cope with such an

Because, while VCA does restore victims with distinguishable and mostly functioning facial features, many cases do represent with abnormal looking faces. However, it could be inferred that one face is better than no face and at least a patient will be able feel far more attractive and natural than they did originally. Vascularized composite allotransplantation has the potential to positively impact many lives in the future and with new developments each day it will soon be a whole new way to perform surgery. Not only in face transplantation but in other situations such as extreme burn or trauma victims of the