Transplant gives man a f lawless new face af ter gun suicide bid
SURGEONS have carried out a pioneering face transplant on a man who shot himself in a botched suicide attempt.
Andy Sandness underwent the rare 56-hour procedure ten years after failing in his bid to kill himself.
The 31-year-old said the outcome ‘far exceeded’ his expectations as his nose and jaw were completely rebuilt.
Only 24 face transplants have ever been attempted, and this is the first one to take place outside a research programme.
Following the procedure at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US, Mr Sandness was not allowed to use a mirror for three weeks to give himself time to adjust.
But he said: ‘There was not a second of doubt that everything was going to go well.’ He received the face of Calen Ross, 21, who had taken his own life last year.
Mr Sandness, who suffered from severe depression, attempted suicide in December 2006 – shooting himself under the chin. But he instantly knew he’d made a terrible mistake.
When police arrived, he begged: ‘Please, please don’t let me die!’ His life was saved, but he was left with no nose or jaw.
His mouth was shattered and just two teeth remained. He also lost some vision in his left eye.
Dr Samir Mardini reconstructed his upper and lower jaw with bone, muscle and skin from the hip and a leg, and reconnected facial bones with titanium plates and screws.
It took 24 hours to remove the donor’s face, taking away bone, muscle, skin and nerves.
Mr Sandness’s face was then rebuilt below his eyes, taking an additional 32 hours. He removed his bandages last June to see his new face for the first time.
The procedure was paid for by a private donor, who is also funding a new face transplantation clinic at the same centre. Dr Mardini, speaking afterwards, said: ‘You don’t know how happy it makes us feel.
‘Everybody went into this totally knowing their role, knowing what to expect.
‘Every step has been thought out 1,000 times.’
Dr Mardini said without a transplant, Mr Sandness would have needed 15 other reconstructive procedures.
Mr Sandness plans to return to his home in Wyoming, work as an electrician and, eventually, marry and have a family.
He said that he recently attended a hockey game, where he was pleased to be ‘just another face in the crowd’. Mr Ross’s widow, Lilly, 19, said she agreed to the operation in honour of her husband’s wishes to be an organ donor.
She added: ‘I was sceptical at first,’ she said. ‘I didn’t want to walk around and all of a sudden see Calen.’
She was reassured because the donor had his own eyes and forehead and wouldn’t be recognisable as her husband.
The first full face transplant was performed in March 2010 by Dr Joan-Pere Barret and 29 other Spanish surgeons on a man known only as Oscar who had shot himself in the face.
Oscar had lost his nose and parts of his jaw, mouth and lips in the accident. Dr Barret recalled: ‘His face was essentially a hole.’
The operation lasted 23 hours and Dr Barret said he was happy with the outcome and remains in contact with Oscar.
He said: ‘Knowing he can finally sit at a dinner table with his family and enjoy life again is a wonderful feeling.’
The woman who had the first partial face transplant, which replaced her nose, mouth and chin following a dog attack, died of cancer after 11 years of taking drugs to suppress her immune system following the operation.
Isabelle Dinoire, who died aged 49, had the surgery in Amiens, northern France, in 2005 and died in April 2016.