A 35 year old who died in a car accident in Begium gave his face to a Spanish man from the Canary Islands.He is Spain’s first ever face transplant patient .Not only has he received a new face but also a new jaw and a new tongue.
The pioneering surgeon Pedro Cavadas from Valencia’s La Fe hospital carried out the operation and now this very important patient is ready to go home.
Eleven years ago this 45 year old man was totally disfigured following complications after radiotherapy treatment for a facial tumour.Dr Cavadas has revealed that now this man is able to swallow,speak intelligibly and has recovered his sense of taste and feeling in the face and tongue.He had non of these feelings and functions before the operation.The operation took a year to prepare and involved 30 people in the team who carried out the operation.Dr Cavadas has also carried out hand and foot transplants at the La Fe hospital in Valencia.
