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Face Transplants Possible But More Research Needed
Reuters
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Face transplants are technically possible and could arguably be less difficult than reattaching a severed finger, surgeons said on Wednesday, but they called for more research into the risks involved before they are attempted.
The microsurgical skills needed for a face transplant are already well established, according to a report by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
But too little is known about the psychological impact it would have on the recipient or the donor family, the ethical issues or the long-term risks of immunosuppressive drugs that would have to be taken for life to prevent the immune system from rejecting the new face.
"We do not feel that the time is appropriate at the moment," Professor Sir Peter Morris, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, told a news conference.
In the detailed report on the feasibility of face transplants, Morris and a panel of experts said the surgery would be a major breakthrough for people who have been disfigured by an accident or disease, but ethical hurdles and uncertainties about the risk and benefits must be resolved.
"It is one of the most exciting possibilities for plastic and reconstructive surgery," said Michael Earley, a plastic surgeon at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin.
"But there is a lot of work to be done yet," he added.
Earley said the blood vessels in the face are larger than in the finger so the microsurgery and stitching techniques may be less complicated than in other types of surgery.
"It is more difficult to actually put a finger back on than it is to transplant a face," he explained.
But Morris stressed the importance of the psychological and ethical implications and said lifetime use of immunosuppressive drugs increases the risk of certain types of cancer and other illnesses.
Dr John Barker, a plastic surgeon at Louisville University in Kentucky, said his team is ready to perform the world's first face transplant.
"We need to get across the complexities of this medical advance and dismiss the myths that have been reported -- for example the first face transplant recipients will not necessarily look like the donor," he said.
Transplanting the skin and underlying soft tissue from one individual to the facial structure of another would give an appearance that would be different from the donor and the recipient, he added in a statement.
Changing Faces, a charity which helps people with face disfigurement, welcomed the report and its recommendations.
"The charity is delighted that the Royal College has produced such an authoritative and informative report that concludes that 'until there is further research and the prospect of better control of complications, it would be unwise to proceed with human facial transplantation," said Dr James Partridge, the chief executive of the charity who was severely facially burned in a fire at the age of 18.
Reuters
By Patricia Reaney
LONDON (Reuters) - Face transplants are technically possible and could arguably be less difficult than reattaching a severed finger, surgeons said on Wednesday, but they called for more research into the risks involved before they are attempted.
The microsurgical skills needed for a face transplant are already well established, according to a report by the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
But too little is known about the psychological impact it would have on the recipient or the donor family, the ethical issues or the long-term risks of immunosuppressive drugs that would have to be taken for life to prevent the immune system from rejecting the new face.
"We do not feel that the time is appropriate at the moment," Professor Sir Peter Morris, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, told a news conference.
In the detailed report on the feasibility of face transplants, Morris and a panel of experts said the surgery would be a major breakthrough for people who have been disfigured by an accident or disease, but ethical hurdles and uncertainties about the risk and benefits must be resolved.
"It is one of the most exciting possibilities for plastic and reconstructive surgery," said Michael Earley, a plastic surgeon at Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin.
"But there is a lot of work to be done yet," he added.
Earley said the blood vessels in the face are larger than in the finger so the microsurgery and stitching techniques may be less complicated than in other types of surgery.
"It is more difficult to actually put a finger back on than it is to transplant a face," he explained.
But Morris stressed the importance of the psychological and ethical implications and said lifetime use of immunosuppressive drugs increases the risk of certain types of cancer and other illnesses.
Dr John Barker, a plastic surgeon at Louisville University in Kentucky, said his team is ready to perform the world's first face transplant.
"We need to get across the complexities of this medical advance and dismiss the myths that have been reported -- for example the first face transplant recipients will not necessarily look like the donor," he said.
Transplanting the skin and underlying soft tissue from one individual to the facial structure of another would give an appearance that would be different from the donor and the recipient, he added in a statement.
Changing Faces, a charity which helps people with face disfigurement, welcomed the report and its recommendations.
"The charity is delighted that the Royal College has produced such an authoritative and informative report that concludes that 'until there is further research and the prospect of better control of complications, it would be unwise to proceed with human facial transplantation," said Dr James Partridge, the chief executive of the charity who was severely facially burned in a fire at the age of 18.
