In the past couple of decades, science has come an incredible way in terms of medical technology.
In 2005, the first-ever face transplant operation took place in Amiens, France. Since then, there have been about 40 operations have taken place across the world.
But this past August saw a 64-year-old man become the oldest person to undergo the surgery, and his new face is nothing short of amazing.
Surgeons at Montreal’s Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital announced they’d performed a face transplant, giving a badly disfigured Quebec man a second lease on life.
Hospital officials detailed last May’s complex and risky 30-hour procedure involving Maurice Desjardins, who was described as the world’s oldest recipient of such a transplant.
A team led by plastic surgeon Dr. Daniel Borsuk was part of the first Canadian attempt at the surgery. Dr. Borsuk said there was no other option for Desjardins, who had been living in constant pain and isolation despite five reconstructive surgeries since a hunting accident in 2011 left him without his jaw, nose, and teeth.
According to reports, 100 medical staff involved in this rigorous operation:
“Imagine when you’re suffering in silence at home for years and you don’t leave your house as much as you’d like to, and you’re sleeping in a separate room because of the sound of the tracheostomy (opening in the trachea),” Borsuk told CTV News.
“You’re living this very difficult existence. Then, overnight essentially, you get a second lease on life.”
The surgeons connected the artery and vein from the donor’s face to Desjardins’ neck and removed the clamps to restore blood flow, and today that reanimated face is starting to move.
The flesh is smooth, the cheeks puffy. The sensory nerves are recovering. His lips can move. Pinch his cheeks and, though the sensation is a little dull, Desjardins can feel it. He can feel the inside of his mouth, or rather, the donor’s mouth. If something touches his face, he knows whether it’s hot or cold. When he shaves, he can feel the blade moving over stubble. He could never grow a beard before.
The motor function is coming back, too, though it’s hard to appreciate it because his mouth hangs wide open. It’s often almost impossible to understand him. He’s fallen back on the facial exercises he was taught in rehab, because of complications related to the drugs that are keeping his body from rejecting a stranger’s face.
His eyes are still his own. They’re big and bright and lively. He’s there, behind those eyes — behind a face that looks astonished, because his mouth hasn’t fully closed. “I’m still the same guy,” he says.
Watch the video below for more details: