Led by Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, the team made up of seven plastic surgeons as well as an ENT (ear, nose and throat) surgeon, along with nurses, anesthesiologists and residents engaged in a 17-hour surgery intended to replace the mid-face area of a patient who had his hard palate, nose, facial skin, muscles for facial animation, upper lip, and nose replaced.

 

The man was injured years ago in an accident that left him without any teeth, no palate, no nose, no lip, making it difficult for him to speak, to eat, to drink. His life has not been easy since the injury, as he has obviously had social problems, among other ailments, Dr. Pomahac said.

 

Neither the donor, nor the recipient was identified, but the donor's family members released a statement saying they hope the procedure convinces others to donate.

 

“The fact that we are able to give this gift was a tremendous comfort in our time of grief,” the statement read.

 

Dr. Pomahac wanted to underline the fact that “there is no risk of recognizing the donor on the new patient. There's a 60 percent chance the patient will look how he used to look.”

 

The Boston face transplant is the second in the nation. The first US transplant was done in December by doctors at Cleveland Clinic who replaced 80 percent of a woman's face with that of a female cadaver. The woman is doing remarkably well. “Her speech is improved so everyone can understand her now, and she has a great outlook on life. She's very comfortable with the way she looks now and she's very happy,” said Dr. Frank Papay, a surgeon who helped perform the transplant.