First face, jaw and tongue transplant for tumour victim
Surgeons spent 16 hours operating on a 43-year-old man whose face had been disfigured for more than a decade.
The patient will eventually be able to eat, taste, swallow and speak properly for the first time in 11 years.
Pedro Cavadas, in charge of the 30-strong team of medics, said yesterday: “It is a very special transplant, as it is the first time in the world in which the tongue and jaw have been transplanted along with the lower part of the face.
“The patient has already seen himself in the mirror and he is delighted.”
The recipient, who has not been named, is from the Canary Islands.
He lost the lower part of his face including his lower lips, jaw and tongue, as a consequence of radiotherapy to treat a tumour.
He had previously had 12 failed operations to repair his face.
Mr Cavadas and his team began the operation in La Fe Hospital, in Valencia, on Tuesday lunchtime and finished at about 5.30am on Wednesday.
The surgeon said: “His ordeal lasted for 11 years and his only option was a face, jaw and tongue transplant.
“He had a very poor quality of life.
“Now, he should be able to swallow, something he has not been able to do for 11 years, meaning he had to use a catheter.
“He should recover sensitivity in his tongue, even his taste. And he should regain his human dignity.”
