Face Switch Patient Amazed By Transformation
James Maki appeared at a news conference at a Boston hospital
James Maki, 59, endured a 17-hour operation last month.
He had been left with a hole in the centre of his face after falling onto an electric subway rail in 2005.
For years he barely left the house, scared of the reaction he would receive from passers-by.
But after seeing Dr Bohdan Pomahac discussing face transplants on television, he decided to look into surgery.
The results were made public at a news conference at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Mr Maki said he was amazed how much he looks like he did before the accident. He first saw his new face four days after the operation.
"I just wanted to see what the new Jim looked like," Mr Maki said.
The donor was Joseph Helfjot, who died after a heart transplant.
James Maki had suffered horrific injuries in Subway accident
Neil Huband, a spokesman for the UK Facial Transplantation Team and board member for charity The Face Trust, said it was good news that another face transplant had been successful.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: "We are delighted that someone else has benefitted from this particular surgery and we congratulate the team in Boston.
"It just goes to show that for a small number of people facial transplantation, or partial facial transplantation, is not just a viable option but the only real option when the face cannot be successfully rebuilt by other, longer standing methods.
"The face is made of up five different types of skin all of which flex and stretch and the current methods mean people have to go in time and time again. The face transplant changes that."
The first successful face transplant was performed in France in 2005 on Isabelle Dinoire, a 38-year-old woman who had been mauled by a dog.
A Chinese man who underwent a facial transplant in China in 2006 after being attacked by a bear died in 2008.
May 2009
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/US-Face-Transplant-James-Maki-
Reveals-New-Face-At-Boston-Hospital-Disfigured-In-Subway-Accident/Article/200905415286572