Spanish Face Transplant Patient Appears in Public for the First Time: UPDATE

A Spanish man who received the world’s first full facial transplant has appeared in public for the first time.

The former farmer, identified only as Oscar, suffered severe facial damage five years ago after accidentally shooting himself in the face. Unable to breathe or eat on his own, he underwent nine failed surgical procedures before receiving consideration for the full facial transplant.

The marathon surgery, which required teams of nurses and doctors operating in harmony over twenty-four hours, used an entire face and placed it on Oscar’s remaining facial structure. This included cheekbones, eyelids, jaw, nose, and teeth among others.

Thus far, Oscar has been able to eat soft foods and drink, as well as speak in limited fashion for the preceding two months. However, his body acutely rejected the new face twice. Both times, timely drug intervention saved his face from being rejected.

Oscar’s sister commented to the media anonymous to protect Oscar’s identity, saying Oscar looks forward to being able to go out in public without receiving unpleasant attention from ignorant and mean-spirited people.

While this is considered to be the first full facial transplant, other partial transplants have been performed in the United States, Europe and China.