US clinic to attempt 1st face transplantFive men and seven women — all severely disfigured — have been shortlisted in the "face race" to receive the world's first face transplant.
The medical team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is led by Maria Siemionow, a 55-year-old surgeon who has spent years conducting research into face transplants. She will select the first recipient from the 12 applicants of a new face from a cadaver.
The clinic received approval for the pioneering operation from its ethics board last year, though regulators in Britain and France had rejected the surgery.
Dr. Siemionow wants to give people disfigured by burns, accidents or other tragedies a chance at a new life. Today's best treatments still leave many with scar-tissue masks that do not look or move like natural skin.
These people already have lost the sense of identity that is linked to the face; the transplant is merely "taking a skin envelope" and slipping their identity inside, according to Dr Siemionow.
However, critics say that the operation is far too risky for something that is not a matter of life or death. They warn of a possible worst-case scenario: a transplanted face being rejected and leaving the patient worse off than before.
Teams of surgeons in Britain, France and the US have previously announced that they are close to performing face transplants, but concerns over the ethical implications of the procedure have halted or delayed their plans. Enditem
The medical team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is led by Maria Siemionow, a 55-year-old surgeon who has spent years conducting research into face transplants. She will select the first recipient from the 12 applicants of a new face from a cadaver.
The clinic received approval for the pioneering operation from its ethics board last year, though regulators in Britain and France had rejected the surgery.
Dr. Siemionow wants to give people disfigured by burns, accidents or other tragedies a chance at a new life. Today's best treatments still leave many with scar-tissue masks that do not look or move like natural skin.
These people already have lost the sense of identity that is linked to the face; the transplant is merely "taking a skin envelope" and slipping their identity inside, according to Dr Siemionow.
However, critics say that the operation is far too risky for something that is not a matter of life or death. They warn of a possible worst-case scenario: a transplanted face being rejected and leaving the patient worse off than before.
Teams of surgeons in Britain, France and the US have previously announced that they are close to performing face transplants, but concerns over the ethical implications of the procedure have halted or delayed their plans. Enditem
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