Face transplants 'on the horizon'

crustiboogacrustibooga
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2516181.stm"; target="_blank">BBC Science/Health article</a>



Great for burns victims, but think of the psychological impact of having someone elses face!



What do you lot think?? :eek:

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    i thank allah everyday that i'm already beautiful.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    [quote]Originally posted by Crustibooga:

    <strong>

    What do you lot think?? :eek: </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I think this makes the new James Bond film one ounce less horrible.
  • Reply 3 of 10
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member




    <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
  • Reply 4 of 10
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    The idea of face transplant is not new, my Master, who is a professor in plastic surgery, said a few years ago when i worked with him, that it will be a good idea.



    Technically nothing prevent it to work, even if it's a hard surgical procedure. We already know how to connect nerves, arteries and veins.



    There is two big technical problems :



    1) The immune system. You have to find a HLA compatible donor, and to give immune suppressive therapy (unlike the bone narrow graft). What the doctor will do if the transplant is rejected : say sorry man , we have to remove your face, the implant is rejected ...



    2) The nerve connection is a hard procedure who do not work at 100 %, but i think that it may give better results than in the case of limb reimplantation or limb transplant.



    There is also others problems, psychologicals ones :



    - an identitity problem concerning the patient who will not recocnize himself. This procedure may not be allowed on people who are not strong psychologicaly. However some patients (for others reasons) have practiced surgery to change their face, and i don't think that they commited suicide for this reason.



    - the lack of donor, most people and families are ready to give an heart , lungs, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, cornea , but the face ... Imagine that the family recocnize in the street the face of one member of their family who is dead some times ago ... and more pragmatically who will see the face removed of one member of his family ?



    The transplant has been tried and been sucessfull for the hands. A Lyon (France) international team of surgeons have successfully implanted two hands transplants on a man who have lost his two hands. By succesful you must understand that he can do basic things like , filling and drinking a glass of water. ( Don't even think of typewriting fast or play music) . From what i have eard , the main problem is the immune therapy, which is big, because the skin have a strong immune potential more important than organ transplant. But for the man transplanted it was a good result. You will notice also that in case of transplant rejection, the man will return back to his previous state. That's not the case of a face transplant who suppose to remove the face of the patient even if she looks terrible.



    However, it's worth a try. If my face was really terrible i mean non human, may be i will try or may be not (because i know too much about the subject : in order to have the faith you must be blind sometimes ).
  • Reply 5 of 10
    crustiboogacrustibooga Posts: 141member
    <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2518555.stm"; target="_blank">Hope for some people!</a>



    Thanks Powerdoc, very interesting. I agree, like the example above, I would risk the complications and I am sure anyway, that there will be proper back-ups in place in case of rejection.
  • Reply 6 of 10
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    [quote]Originally posted by Crustibooga:

    <strong><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2518555.stm"; target="_blank">Hope for some people!</a>



    Thanks Powerdoc, very interesting. I agree, like the example above, I would risk the complications and I am sure anyway, that there will be proper back-ups in place in case of rejection.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    The only back up possible is to make a new transplantation, and you are not always sure to find a new donor. Unlike sperm , or feconded eggs, you cannot keep alive a part of a body.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    crustiboogacrustibooga Posts: 141member
    Oh! not so good, also I guess, it is quite traumatic surgery not forgetting the risks of anaesthesia. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
  • Reply 8 of 10
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    [quote]Originally posted by Crustibooga:

    <strong>Oh! not so good, also I guess, it is quite traumatic surgery not forgetting the risks of anaesthesia. <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Ah yes , i forgot this one, but frankly it won't be the risk that will scary me the most. And if you consider that the risk of anesthesia for a so long procedure is not minor, you will have an idear, of how this procedure is difficult.



    [ 11-27-2002: Message edited by: Powerdoc ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 10
    jamiljamil Posts: 210member
    Quoted by Powerdoc [quote]1) The immune system. You have to find a HLA compatible donor, <hr></blockquote>



    Is Steve Jobs and Bill Gates compatible? It would be a neat trick



    Maybe that's the surprise Steve has in store for us at MWSF <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 10 of 10
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    I feel a Conan O'Brien sketch coming.



    [ 11-27-2002: Message edited by: Scott ]</p>
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