VIDEO: Sister meets face transplant recipient

A US woman has met, for the first time, the man who received the face of her dead brother in a groundbreaking face transplant.

Richard Norris, 39, was left severely disfigured after he accidentally shot off half of his face in 1997.

Before the transplant, Norris went through 30 painful operations to try and repair the damage and restore his features. The painful procedures resulted in very little improvement and caused Norris to sink into depression.