World's most extensive transplant gives US man new face

Washington: A 37-year-old US man injured in a 1997 gun accident has been given a new face, teeth, tongue and jaw in what doctors say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed. Seven months after a strong contingent of 100 doctors operated on Richard Lee Norris, from Hillsville, Virginia, pictures were released earlier this week showing the results of a 36-hour final surgery performed in March. [caption id=“attachment_495284” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Richard Norris before his accident. Reuters[/caption] Norris was injured in a gun accident 15 years ago where he shot himself in the face, CBS News reported. He lost his nose, sense of smell and part of his tongue after the accident, and has since undergone multiple life-saving surgeries. Norris was given a new face, teeth, tongue and jaw during the extensive transplant. As a result, he is now able to feel his face, shave, brush his teeth and is slowly regaining his sense of smell as well as his speech. “It’s a surreal experience to look at him. It’s hard not to stare. Before, people used to stare at Richard because he wore a mask, and they wanted to see the deformity; now they have another reason to stare at him, and it’s really amazing,” Lead surgeon Dr Eduardo Rodriguez, of the University of Maryland Medical Centre in Baltimore, said. According to Rodriguez, Norris does not look like the anonymous donor, whose organs saved five other patients on the same day. The 36-hour operation was the most extensive because it included transplantation of the teeth, tongue, upper and lower jaw and all facial tissue from the scalp to the base of the neck, Rodriguez said. Because it included so much facial tissue, the incisions are farther back and less visible, he said. PTI