Surgeons give burns victim face and hands

A SEVERELY disfigured man has received a new face and two hands in a world-first transplant operation.

A team of 40 surgeons carried out the procedure over 30 hours in the Henri Mondor Hospital in Paris. The 30-year-old man had been on a waiting list for more a year with burns to his face and hands "so severe that it robbed him of all social life", said the hospital.

Surgeons replaced his face above the lips, including the scalp, nose, ears and forehead, and also succeeded in grafting upper and lower eyelids.

Professor Laurent Lantieri, the surgeon who led the team, said: "It is a success, he is in good condition. The patient is in post-op intensive care which will last at least 15 days. Everything was reconnected - the nerves, tendons, arteries and veins."

Another team, led by surgeon Christian Dumontier, replaced the man's hands, including the wrists. "We will have to wait and see whether the nerves will grow back and give them mobility,' said Professor Dumontier.

The first face transplant was carried out in France in 2005 on Isabelle Dinoire, 38, who was mauled by her dog.